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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. 

Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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! 

Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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! 

Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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. 

Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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! 

Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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

Salad

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.
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Sweet and Spicy Sesame Meatball Bowl with Mango Cucumber Salad | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Great recipe. I reduced the sesame oil and increased the honey to make it a bit sweeter. It’s on “the list” according to my kids!

    1. Hey Robin,
      Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so excited it was enjoyed! Hope you’re having a great weekend! xx

    1. Hey Lisa,
      Happy Friday!!? Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, I am so glad it was a hit! xT

    1. Hey Jacqueline,
      Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear about the salt! xx

      1. 5 stars
        The key to the salt in the salad is to pat them with paper towel, rinse and dry the bowl and add them back in with the fruit. I used peaches only.
        Made this with lean ground turkey and found the meatballs too dry. Next time I’ll use regular ground turkey. I made on batch with sweet chili sauce and that was not as good as the batch with regular chili sauce.

        1. Hey Patricia,
          Happy Friday!!? Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, I am so glad it was a hit! Good to know about the lean ground turkey! xT

  2. 5 stars
    Made this dish tonight for my husband and he said it tasted SO authentic. This was my first time trying one of your recipes. Now I am obsessed with all of them. Thank you for making such easy video tutorials on Instagram. I love them.

    1. Hey Tina,
      Happy Tuesday!! Wonderful! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! Thanks for your kind message:) xx

  3. 3 stars
    Pork meatballs have good flavor, however I highly suggest not using a tablespoon of salt for only two Persian cucumbers. I got minimal water from them and the entire salad portion was ruined due to how salty it tasted from the cucumbers.

    1. Hi Caroline,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear about your cucumbers. Hope you’re having a great day! xTieghan

  4. 5 stars
    Made these tonight, they were delicious (as are all of your recipes that I have tried). Will definitely make again!

    1. Hey Jes,
      Thanks so much for your kind message and giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xTieghan

    1. Hey Pam,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! xTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    This was such a perfect summer dish! The only edit I made was adding about a tablespoon or so of rice vinegar to the cucumber mango salad to mimic traditional Korean cucumber salad and it was such a good choice – the splash of acid highlighted the sweetness of both the mango and cucumber. Highly recommend!

    1. Hey Megan,
      I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your feedback! Happy Friday! xx

  6. 5 stars
    Delicious!! Took the advice of some previous comments and reduced the salt on the cucumber a little bit, and also used chipotle chili powder in the salad because my store didn’t have gochugaro.

    1. Hi Kalynn,
      Happy Friday! I am so excited that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a go! xT?

    1. Hey Jac,
      Happy Wednesday!? Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was a tasty one! xxT

    1. Hi Lisa,
      Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry about the salt! Did you use low sodium soy sauce? You could try coconut aminos next time for less sodium. I hope this helps! xTieghan

  7. 5 stars
    Excellent recipe, robust flavors. Have now made this recipe 2x with rave reviews from friends and family. One tip- leave out the salt on the cucumbers. They don’t need all the extra salt, the tamari/soy sauce in the salad and sauce provides plenty of savory flavor.

    1. Hey Alexandra,
      Thanks for your comment! So glad to hear that this dish was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a go! ?xTieghan

  8. 3 stars
    I LOVE your recipes Tieghan! I’ve been meal prepping with only your recipes for months now and I’m obsessed! I’m sad because I think this one missed the mark a little. The full tablespoon of salt on the cucumbers was a LOT. I saw you said to just drain the excess water but I think they definitely needed to be rinsed perhaps? I could not eat the salad after that, it was just too much salt. The meatballs were absolutely delicious but the insides were bland unless I added some soy sauce to them before I ate them. Again, LOVE your recipes!

    1. Hi Arianne,
      Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. If you rinse the cucumbers, you are just adding the water back into them. You could try patting them with a paper towel next time to see if that would help! xTieghan

  9. Hi,
    Love your stuff. Can you make the meatballs a bit ahead of time and put in frig on parchment paper? Making this for a dinner party and don’t like to be slaving over stove while socializing. Too stressful.
    Thanks,
    Tami

    1. Hey Tami,
      Totally, that will work well for you! Let me know how the recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xx

  10. 5 stars
    Yummy recipe! Hubby and I loved it. Used turkey thigh instead of chicken/pork and I had a nectarine at home so I used that instead of the mango. Turned out great! Also, used Gochuchang chili sauce instead of Gochugaru flakes.

    1. Hi Lindsay,
      Happy Friday!!? I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxT