SWEET AND SOUR BOLA-BOLA

One quick and easy dinner that you can make for your family is Sweet and Sour Meatballs. As the name suggests, this is a meatball dish with sweet and sour sauce. 

There are several ways to make the sweet and sour sauce; one example is the recipe that we have for the Sweet and Sour Tilapia while another is the basic Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe that we used for Sweet and Sour Pork – this recipe is entirely different from the rest.

Filipino Style Recipe: sweet and sour meatballs(bola-bola) recipe is another Filipino dish. Normally the meatballs comes fried and the sauce is a blend of tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, carrots, bell pepper, pineapple and cornstarch which thickens the sauce.

Meatballs:
500 grams ground pork or ground beef
1 tablespoon cornstarch or 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 raw egg
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce(optional)
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce(optional)
1 small carrot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
cooking oil for deep frying

Sauce:
1/2 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch(dissolved in 1 tablespoon water)
1 small carrot, sliced thinly
1 cup green and red bell pepper, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup pineapple chunks, juice drained(optional)

Procedures:
1. In a bowl, combine all the meatballs ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2. Scoop and form the mixture into 1 tablespoons ball shaped.
3. In a frying pan, heat oil and deep fry until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

Part 2
1. In a sauce pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and saute garlic and onions.
2. Add carrots and bell pepper then stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add pineapple chunks and stir fry for 1 minute.
4. Add tomato sauce, vinegar, water, brown sugar and a dash of salt. Mix well and let it boil.
5. Add cornstarch mixture and cook until desired thickness is reached.
6. Add fried meatballs and simmer for 2 minutes.
7. Adjust seasoning according to taste.
8. Serve with steamed rice.