Sticky ginger-glazed pork balls

Pork mince, unlike beef mince, does not require an egg to help hold it together when making burgers or meatballs. The oats here will add some fibre and texture. They can be omitted if you wish. However, if you only have flaky oats, cut the amount back to about one third of a cup. You could also use cooked rice or lentils in place of the wholegrain oats.

For the meatballs

¼ cup	Olive oil
5	Shallots, peeled, use up to 6, if large cut in half lengthwise (or use 1 large brown onion, peeled and thickly sliced)
1 kg	Pork, coarsely minced (Main)
½ cup	Wholegrain oats, see note above (Main)
3 tsp	Freshly grated ginger
½ cup	Walnuts, roughly chopped, optional

For the glaze

⅓ cup	Sweet soy sauce, Indonesian style
⅓ cup	Tomato sauce
⅓ cup	Brown sugar
1 tsp	Five spice
1 tsp	Freshly grated ginger, use up to 2 tsp (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 190C.
2. In a shallow-sided, oven-proof dish, pour in the olive oil and add the shallots, turning them to coat evenly. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. While the shallots are cooking prepare the pork balls.
3. In a bowl, work together the pork, oats and ginger. Season well with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 14-16 even-sized balls and place in the cooking dish with the shallots.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the glaze ingredients. Carefully pour a dessert spoonful of glaze over each meatball.
5. Return to the oven and continue cooking for a further 30-35 minutes. Scatter over the walnuts and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
6. Serve garnished with herbs such as chives, parsley or mint. Here I have used mache.