Baked chicken meatballs and rice noodle salad

These baked chicken meatballs are pretty amazing. I'm usually a pork-veal combo kind of girl, but I don't know, guys. These might be new household favorites.

After I read about Molly Wizenberg's claw technique for meatballs, I've successfully avoided that dense quality so many homemade meatballs can have. I've written down what we added to the meatball mixture, but this is an incredibly adaptable recipe based on your preferences and what you have lying around. Fresh grated ginger, smoked paprika, chopped scallions or chili flakes would also be excellent additions.

Baked chicken meatballs with rice noodle salad

You will need:

1 lb ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon crystallized ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley and basil
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

1 package rice noodles
1 large carrot
1 large radish
1/2 avocado
lime
Tzatiziki (combine a large spoonful of yogurt, diced English cucumber, chopped mint, salt and pepper)

Preheat oven to 375. Loosely combine all ingredients in a bowl using the claw technique. Gently gather a small amount of the meatball mixture and toss gently between your two hands a few times until a loose ball forms. I like meatballs to be between 1 1/2 and 2 inches big. This will make 8-10 meatballs, depending on the size you chose. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked all the way through.

Soak the rice noodles in very hot water for 10 minutes and drain (you can also cook them like pasta in boiling water for a few minutes). Top with thinly sliced radishes, cubed avocado, grated carrots, a few meatballs and a big dollop of tzatiziki. Finish with a big squeeze of lime juice over everything.

Enjoy!