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Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad. This dish incorporates a variety of flavors and fresh summer produce. It’s a delicious mix of cozy and healthy, and a great way to use up garden cucumbers and fresh basil. It’s made with tamari, plenty of ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and served over steamed rice. Top with spicy cucumber mango salad and you’ll have a super delicious bowl that’s ready in under an hour.
If there’s one thing I love doing, it’s taking something kind of boring, like chicken and meatballs, and reinventing the dish to be exciting and extra delicious. I’m often bored with recipes. So looking at a type of meat like chicken, and trying to come up with a way to reinvent it, is always a nice challenge.
These meatballs aren’t over the top or crazy different. But for someone who’s used to cooking only Italian-style meatballs, these are a fun twist.
I did my best to use ingredients I had easy access to. And when I was finished, I had such a yummy Asian rice bowl-style dinner. My family’s favorite!
With peaches coming into season, cucumbers growing in everyone’s garden, and mangos now plentiful at the grocery store, I chose to highlight these three as my summer produce.
I love the fresh flavors, sweetness, and color they add!
The details – I always begin with the meatballs
You can use ground chicken or pork for these meatballs. I actually think I prefer pork, but both options work really well. Mix the ground meat with cilantro, green onions, garlic, ginger, and my secret, Worcestershire sauce. It adds a really delicious, salty, and almost umami-like flavor. You don’t know it’s there, but it adds so much.
The meatballs are seared up in a skillet for super-quick cooking.
While the meatballs cook, you’ll want to mix the sauce. It’s tamari (or soy sauce), lots of chili sauce, more garlic, ginger, honey, and sesame seeds.
The sauce is poured over the meatballs. Then a little cornstarch or arrowroot powder is added to help thicken it just so slightly.
The Mango Cucumber Salad
To be honest, this was the idea that got the whole dish going. I want to make a spicy cucumber salad, but I wanted to incorporate summer fruit, fresh mango, and peaches. I thought the mix sounded perfect to serve along with meatballs!
It’s easy, just mix everything together with gochugaru flakes.
Then serve over rice, and top with additional green onions and basil. These were the perfect toppers since we have so much growing in our garden right now!
A great family dinner that’s easily ready in under an hour!
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Spicy Chipotle Honey Salmon Bowls
Lastly, if you make this Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 458 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken or pork
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 3 cups steamed rice
Salad
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 1 mango, peach, or a mix, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Gochugaru flakes
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1. To make the meatballs. Add the chicken, green onions, 1 clove grated garlic, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, cilantro, Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with a bit of oil and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs).2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and sear until crisp and mostly cooked through, about 5-8 minutes, turning them 2-3 times. 3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a glass jar, combine the tamari, 1/3 cup water, 3 cloves grated garlic, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, chili sauce, honey, and sesame seeds. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. 4. Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Simmer 2-3 minutes, then add the cornstarch, and cook until the sauce lightly coats the meatballs.5. Add the cucumbers to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of salt. Let sit 5 minutes, then drain out the water. Add the mango, gochugaru flakes, tamari, and sesame seeds. 6. Spoon the rice into bowls. Add the salad, the meatballs, and a handful of green onions and basil.
Help! I don’t see where to add the sesame oil that is listed in the ingredients. Ty!!
Hi Christine,
The sesame oil is used in step 2. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Maybe I overlooked it, but the recipe instructions do not list where the Sesame Oil is supposed to be added.
Use the sesame oil to sauté/brown the meatballs…..
Hi Toni,
The sesame oil is used in step 2. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
This is way too salty. I was thinking it as I was making it but decided to just trust. That was a mistake. Who is taste testing these recipes??
If you decide to make this do not coat your cucumbers in salt. I had to pick mine out of my meal.
That aside, the flavor in the meatballs is good.
It would also be helpful to include the basil in the ingredients list. I was disappointed the instructions state to garnish with basil but I did not buy any due to them being omitted from the list.
Oh well. I tried.
Hi Noreen,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. So sorry to hear it was salty:) Did you use low sodium soy sauce? My family typically tastes the recipes and shares their feedback with me, they do love their salt! Let me know if I can help in any other way! Happy Sunday!! xTieghan
Hi. Yes low sodium was bought and used. I think what would be helpful is to recommend in your instructions to rinse and pat dry the cucumbers before adding to the rest of the salad. The tablespoon (tablespoon! ) of salt is what ruined this meal.
I also enjoy salt but not when it is the only thing you can taste in my meal.
Thanks for your response.
Tieghan,
I recognize my response may have sounded rude. It was not my intention. I have made many other recipes from your blog that I have enjoyed. Thank you and hope you have a nice day.
No worries, thanks for making the recipe!!
Delicious! We enjoyed the leftovers for lunch. I rinsed the salt from the cucumbers before making the salad. We were pleased with the results. Thanks very much for another “keeper!”
Hi Clare,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for your comment and making this recipe:) I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
So so good. Just the right hint of spice. I used a combo of a peach and a mango.
The sauce was delicious – wish there was even more.
(Luckily, I hid some extra meatballs, sauce and rice so I get for lunch today!)
Hey David,
Happy Friday! Thanks for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was a winner! ? xx
I made this tonight and it didn’t look as pretty as yours but tasted so good! I didn’t have the pepper flakes for the salad and subbed aleppo pepper flakes because i was worried regular crushed red pepper would be too spicy. Another great recipe! Thank you!!
Hi Yvette,
Happy Thursday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Soooo good, better than take out.
Hi Marla,
Awesome!! So glad this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it:) Hope you’re off to a great day! xTieghan
I made a big mistake and made this recipe while listening to an audiobook. Instead of reading the directions, I only read the ingredients list and mixed the chicken and sauce together. No way would meatballs hold together, so I just cooked it all together. It was delicious! I will definitely make this again, thank you!
Hey there,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues! Let me know if you try it again! xTieghan
So many good flavors in this one! Love the cucumbers and peaches together. But also way too salty for me. I would suggest skipping the salt on the cucumbers altogether, and even do half the amount of tamari/soy sauce. I will make again with these adjustments and I’m sure I will love 🙂
Hi Sam,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. If you skip the salt on the cucumber the salad will be watery:) xTieghan
Supper yummy!! I had slightly less ginger on hand than your recipe called for so I had to omit from the meatball sauce, sadly. Still yummy!
I also had an abundance of limes, so chose to add juice of 1 lime to the cucumber salad for a bit of brightness.
Will definitely make again!
Hi Ashley,
Amazing!! I am thrilled that this dish was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it out! xTieghan
Very salty. I suggest rinsing the salt off the cucumbers and patting dry. Also, it would be super helpful if the recipe was organized w the meatball ingredients listed, and the sauce ingredients list, like you do with the salad. If you want to do a full ingredient list, great, but as it is now, I needed to add a lot of notes. I think the garlic count doesn’t add up. 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xTieghan
Your video showed you using some kind of honey for the salad. Not gochugaru flakes. Where do you find that?
Hey Kelly,
The honey is only used in step 3 for the sauce:) Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Does the nutritional information include the rice and salad? Or is it just for the meatballs?
Hi Evie,
It’s going to include the meatballs and salad:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Making this tonight! So the nutritional info does notttt include the rice right? Thank you!
Correct:) I hope you love the recipe Ashley!
This looks amazing! Sort of a silly question, but my husband despises cucumber. Claims he can smell one just being sliced from the opposite side of the house and that even one slice in a salad makes the entire salad taste like cucumber (who knew someone could have such a strong aversion to a mild flavour like cucumber). Do you have a suggestion for replacing the cucumber in the salad or do you think it would just be fine to skip it and make it a mango salad? Thanks!
Hey Melissa,
You could totally just skip the cucumber or even use a bell pepper in its place:) I hope you both love the recipe! xTieghan
what can I use untead of Gochugaru flakes? I cannot find it in Mexico
Hey Nidia,
You can use regular chili flakes:) I hope this recipe is delicious, let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Can you use gouchujang paste instead of the gochugaru flakes? Thanks
Hey Ellen,
Sure, that would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I’m going to make this tonight. Do you think I should use gouchujang paste or red pepper flakes in place of the Gochujara flakes? Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
Regular chili flakes are perfect:)
I love all the versions of this meal! I’m excited to try this one. I’ve been craving the salmon version everyday since I first tried it!
Thanks so much Miranda! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan