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2Bakso goreng or fried meatballs is one of Indonesian most beloved food. Bakso (meatballs) come in all sort of variety, fish, shrimp, chicken, pork, beef, and many combinations such as fish shrimp combo, chicken shrimp combo, pork chicken combo, e.t.c. Once the meatball mixture is ready, it can be deep fried into bakso goreng (fried meatballs), or boiled into bakso kuah (meatballs soup). Today, I am going to share my beloved bakso goreng ayam (fried chicken meatballs) recipe.
Meatballs are best when made with meat with high fat content, as such I would suggest using chicken thigh with skin on and don’t remove any of the fatty bits to ensure a higher fat content. First, use a food processor to grind the chicken thigh and skin. Transfer the ground meat into a mixing bowl. Next, season with grated garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, chicken bouillon (or use more salt), and sesame oil. Mix well. Next, slowly pour in ice cold water while stirring the meat mixture to incorporate. Next, add one chicken egg and mix again. Lastly, add in tapioca starch and baking powder, and fold into the meat mixture.
One of the trick to get a crispier meatballs is to ensure the meat mixture is cold while the oil for deep frying is hot. As such, I like to chill the meat mixture in the fridge first for 1 hour at least prior to deep frying. When you are ready to deep fry, prepare a pot of hot oil over a medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, remove the meat mixture from the fridge, and drop tablespoonful of meat mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes total. Repeat this step until all the meat mixture is used up. These fried chicken meatballs are best serve piping hot, with some chili sauce and/or tomato ketchup.
- 3 chicken thighs, skin intact, boneless (about 600 gram)
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper (white is preferred)
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (or salt)
- 1½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 cup (250 ml) ice cold water
- 300 gram tapioca starch
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- enough oil for deep frying
- Grind chicken thighs in a food processor. Transfer ground chicken into a mixing bowl.
- Season chicken with garlic, salt, sugar, ground pepper, chicken bouillon powder, and sesame oil. Mix well.
- Slowly pour in ice cold water to the meat mixture while stirring until all the water is fully incorporated into the meat mixture (there shouldn't be any standing water).
- Add in the tapioca starch and baking powder to the meat mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Chill the meat mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Heat enough oil for deep frying in a pot/wok over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, drop tablespoonful of chicken meat mixture into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Repeat until all chicken meat mixture is used up.
- Serve hot with chili sauce and/or tomato ketchup.
“…don’t remove any of the fatty bits to ensure a higher fat content.” Best thing I’ve read in years. Finally someone who understands!
Sometimes the “bad” stuff is what’s needed to make the food good 😉
Amazing recipe! Could I freeze the mixture?
Hi Ika, I have never tried freezing this particular mixture Ika, so I cannot guarantee it will work.
That said, if you want to freeze, I would suggest preparing the meatballs up to the point they have been shaped into balls. Then, arrange them placed slightly apart on parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a freezer bag (like the ones from ziplock). Before cooking, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.
Hope this helps 🙂