#insideoutdumplings

[tango-mango]

How did I end up with an air fryer? When it comes to cooking and baking, I typically don't take shortcuts because I love going through all of the motions. However, the allure of crispy food without the oil ultimately swayed me.

We bought a "Gourmia" brand air fryer because it got high reviews and so far, we've enjoyed it. It's not much of a time-saver, but it delivers crispy food as promised. I cut French fries from a few Russet potatoes last night, and they cooked up better than expected!  

What I bring you here are "Inside Out Dumplings" with an outstanding hoisin-based sauce. I cooked them the first night and reheated the leftovers the next day. We were practically licking our plates.

The recipe for the meatballs comes from the small Gourmia cookbook that came with the appliance, and the sauce recipe, which ranks the highest star power, comes from gimmesomeoven.com. I can hardly wait to make them again!

Inside Out Dumplings (Asian Meatballs)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork or beef (I used grass-fed ground beef)

4 ounces water chestnuts, finely minced

3 tablespoons panko breadcumbs

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated or finely minced

2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced

1 large scallion, minced

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Preheat air fryer to 400-degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together and form into 1 1/2-inch balls. Spray lightly with cooking oil and place in crisper tray. Cook 10 to 12 minutes or until cooked through. Don't crowd basket. (I had plenty of room to cook all of these at once, but if your air fryer is small, it might require cooking in batches.)

For baking in a conventional oven, I checked other recipes and it looks like you'd preheat your oven to 375-degrees. Spray meatballs with cooking spray, place on parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven. Check after 20 minutes to gauge doneness, and adjust cooking time as needed.

Sesame Sauce Ingredients:

2/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon ground ginger.

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together. Pour or brush over cooked meatballs, or dip meatballs individually.