Stir-fry Bean Sprouts, Chives & Ikea Meatballs

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A veggies stir-fry with … Ikea meatballs? No you didn’t read wrongly. This is indeed a recipe for stir-fry bean sprouts, chives & Ikea meatballs. I bought two bags of frozen Ikea meatballs and after some time, I needed to break away from the monotony of adding the meatballs to my salads. Using Ikea meatballs in a stir-fry is really convenient – I cooked the meat balls in an air fryer (you can also use an oven, microwave or the stove), then slice them thinly for the stir-fry.

See Also:

• Stir-fry Vegetables (Yasai Itame)
• Stir-fry Bean Sprouts & Tricolor Peppers
• Stir-fry Chicken & Black Fungus

This is actually my practice dish for stir-fry bean sprouts, chives with liver (an izakaya dish I wanted to learn after watching Midnight Diner). Liver is cumbersome to prepare, so I practiced the recipe with Ikea meatballs which are convenient, delicious and ready-to-eat. Incidentally, I think the mellow duo of bean sprouts + garlic chives go very well with the richly seasoned Ikea meatballs. I suspect I am going to cook this ‘practice version’ quite often due to the convenience.

Ingredients & Preparation

• Prepare the garlic chives by cutting them to equal short lengths. The bottom ends of the chives gets stir-fried first, so separate them out.
• Wash the bean sprouts and dry them in a salad spinner.
• Cook the Ikea meatballs (I’m using an air fryer). You can also use a toaster or conventional  oven, microwave or the stove. Cut each meatball, when cooled, to 3 to 4 slices.

• Make the stir-fry sauce with oyster sauce, soy sauce, sake, sugar, water, cornstarch and white pepper. Give it a good stir before adding the sauce to the pan.

Make The Dish

1. I am using a (23 cm/9-inch) metal non-stick claypot which conducts heat very well, and is just the right size for serving it in the pan (and for photo-taking!). You can use a wokpan, frying pan or any heat-resistant claypot or casserole.
2. Fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add bottom ends of the garlic chives and the bean sprouts. As soon as the bean sprouts start to soften, cover with lid to steam for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the remaining chives and pour the prepared sauce evenly over the contents. Stir fry briskly to coat everything in the sauce.
5. Lastly stir in the sliced Ikea meatballs, mix well and serve!