Marmite Meatballs 妈蜜肉丸

*Recipe in collaboration with Marmite.

I am thankful to be invited as one of the 6 brand ambassadors for Marmite in their June product campaign. I made these Marmite Meatballs 妈蜜肉丸 to pair with my Marmite Cheddar Cheese Buns 妈蜜芝士面包 in early May when I had to submit the recipes for the sponsor's approval. My family loved them and I'd made them twice more since.

Honestly, I had longed wanted to cook with Marmite as it brought me memories of how mom used to feed me Marmite in congee when I was a child. I was a premature baby. Small and struggling to live. Hence, Marmite was part of my daily diet since very young. The folic acid, high vitamins and nutritional values were major contributions to me growing up strong and healthy till my teenage days. Mom was a smart woman. At that era, she already knew the benefits of incorporating Marmite into my diet. Kudos to her foresight!   

Like many people, I am kinda guilty for having cast my childhood dishes aside as I matured and learnt to cook. Marmite had always been lingering in my mind till late. I must thank Marmite to give me this opportunity to revisit sweet tastes and memories of my childhood. And better still, allow me to create my own dishes with it! 

I decided to create Marmite Meatballs 妈蜜肉丸 as I knew it would hit a home run with both adults and children. Circumstantially, the meatball sauce also serves as an ideal dipping sauce for the Marmite Cheddar Cheese Buns 妈蜜芝士面包.

Ingredients for Meatballs (enough for 4 pax) :

• 300 gm minced beef
• 200 gm minced pork
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1.5 tsp Marmite
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp grounded black pepper

Ingredients for Sauce (enough for 4 pax) :

• 3 tbsp white rice flour or cake flour
• 25 gm butter
• 1 medium sized onion (julienned)
• 1.5 tsp Marmite
• 1 tbsp Worchester sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp sugar
• 500 ml water
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• finely chopped cilantro (for garnishing)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Fry white rice flour or cake flour in a frying pan till it turns from white till light brown. Set aside. 
2. To prepare meatballs, fold in minced beef, minced pork, finely chopped onions, egg, corn starch, Marmite, coriander powder, cumin powder and grounded black pepper in a big bowl. Mix all ingredients evenly with a pair of chopsticks in a single clockwise or anti-clockwise direction till mixture turns sticky and gluey.
3. Mould mixture into meatballs of your desired sizes and arrange them on a tray. Set aside for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare sauce mixture by mixing Marmite, Worchester sauce, tomato ketchup and sugar in a bowl.  
5. Melt butter at medium heat with a frying pan.
6. Fold in meatballs. Sautee meatballs on all sides till golden brown. 
7. Remove meatballs from pan and set aside.
8. Using the same greased frying pan, stir fry the julienned onions till caramelised at medium heat.
9. Fold in sauce mixture that were set aside earlier.
10. Add water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
11. Turn to low heat and fold in fried flour little by little. Keep stirring to remove clumps, if any.
12. Fold in meatballs as sauce starts to thicken.
13. Cover lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Flip the meatballs at 5 minutes interval.
14. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and finely chopped cilantro before serve.
15. Serve whilst hot. Sauce also serves as ideal dipping sauce for breads.

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