For this soup recipe, we skipped browning the meatballs and poached them instead. This will keep them very tender and their flavor light, which is ideal for this seasonal dish.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
½
1
1
Broth and Assembly
2
1
3
½
1
2
10
2
1
Preparation
Meatballs
Step 1
Mix scallions, egg, egg yolk, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, coriander, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Finely grate zest from lime into bowl. Add chicken and gently mix with your hands until evenly distributed.
Step 2
Gently roll chicken mixture into 1½"-diameter balls (about the size of a golf ball; you should have about 20) and place on a baking sheet. Chill until ready to use.
Step 3
Do Ahead: Meatballs can be formed 2 months ahead; freeze until firm, about 2 hours, then transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag and keep frozen.
Broth and Assembly
Step 4
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add ginger, garlic, and pepper and cook, stirring often, until garlic is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add 6 cups cold water, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer.
Step 5
Working with 1 meatball at a time, reroll to ensure it’s round and gently add to broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and add soy sauce; season with salt. Cook meatballs until cooked through, 10–12 minutes. Add celery and snow peas and cook until peas are bright green and tender, about 3 minutes.
Step 6
Divide soup among bowls. Top with scallions and cilantro.
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Reviews (40)
Back to TopI have made this recipe countless times since it was first published in 2019. It is always a hit. The soup is always a backdrop for the meatballs, so I usually add a tad more soy sauce and the whites of the scallions. Goes great over leftover rice.
Olivia S.
Newport, CA
10/14/2022
I found the best way for me was to treat the meatball mix like dumpling dough and slow slide into the broth by teaspoon. Even after a good chill in the fridge I couldn't get a ball to form...but taste was on point if not the prettiest soup, it definitely had great flavor.
Gregg C.
San Francisco, CA
5/21/2021
This recipe is so easy and delicious. My meatballs initially were not as firm as I'd like them to be following the recipe to a tee, however I just froze them for two hours and they went in the soup perfectly. I did not have to add in breadcrumbs or other substitutions. I added double amount of greens the second time I made this because of how refreshing they tasted! The only thing I changed in the broth was I used Chinese grounded white pepper instead as I like to use that in my lighter soups. Flavor came out amazing and delicious!
Jules
New York, NY
1/15/2021
This is one of my favorite things to make on a cold day. Without a bread binder, the meatballs are gooey, so make sure you chill or freeze them first. Also, for the broth I've made it with both sliced ginger (as noted in the recipe) and grated ginger and found that grated ginger worked best. It flavored the broth beautifully without the slices of ginger floating around in the soup, which I'm personally not a fan of.
Colleen
San Ramon, CA
1/12/2021
Omg, what are youse all on?! Hot tip: ignore the comments! (Except this one!) This recipe was honestly perfect as is. You don't need to add any breadcrumbs – just don't skip the chilling of the meatballs and you'll be set. The broth – while suspiciously light on ingredients – is complex and delicious. The greens were crisp and nourishing. My housemates literally gave me a round of applause when I served this up tonight. I was inspired enough by the experience to create a BA profile... guys, I'm a commenter now.
unhingedsnowpea
Australia
7/28/2020
Excellent! I got around the gloppy meatballs by putting them in wonton skins and freezing them. Worked well! Also I used homemade chicken stock instead of water.
zipster
Victoria BA CANADA
5/18/2020
This recipe is a hit but definitely needed some on-the-spot tweaking. THE MEATBALLS: This was my first time working with ground chicken (thigh meat only for moisture) and the reviewers below are correct, the mixture ended up being super goopy and for me, was impossible to work with. I added 1/4 cup breadcrumbs which brought it together into a more manageable batter. I did my best to form the--albeit ugly, non-round--meatballs and placed them on a small sheet pan in the freezer for 30 mins while I cleaned up and prepped the broth. THE BROTH: You gotta remember that this is a very quick-cooking recipe so the broth doesn't have any time (or onions) to develop any depth of flavour in the 15 mins of cook time. I cooked the ginger alone for 5 mins before adding the garlic to avoid burning. I used 4 cups of storebought beef broth and 2 cups of water as suggested by others but the broth was still bland even after the meatballs had finished cooking. The soy sauce helped a bit but I added 2 teasapoons of fish sauce which helped immensely! If you do this, completely omit adding any salt to the broth as the fish sauce and soy are both salty. OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: the meatballs came out great and the small amount of breadcrumbs did not make them soggy or mushy. If you want to go the extra mile with your broth, you can add dried or fresh mushrooms (sautee the fresh mushrooms alone first, till browned), thinly sliced carrots or brocollini/gai lan (add halfway thru meatball cook time), and even a hearty green like kale, chard, or bok choy. For HEFT, add ramen noodles or any (separately cooked) noodle or rice/grain you have lying around. I served mine with fresh slices of homemade bread. This is one of those recipes that teaches you the importance of tasting at each stage of cooking and to trust your gut when it comes to additions and substitutions but it is worth making :)
CookSorcery
Boston
4/30/2020