Vegetable Balls

These Vegetable Balls, Veggie Balls Recipe or “Gulay Balls Recipe” is a wholesome snack or appetizer filled with nutritious veggies packed with a lot of flavor. These tiny golden balls are made of carrots, pumpkin, spring onions, garlic, onion, eggs, salt and pepper to taste, some all purpose flour, cornstarch, an optional dash of sugar, and water. These are formed into balls then dropped into hot oil, to be fried and readied with a side of sweet, tangy, and savory sauce made of water, brown sugar, soy sauce, onion, garlic, vinegar, all purpose flour, cornstarch, with salt and pepper to taste. Try out these Yummy Healthy Veggie Bites, and be surprised on how much even kids will love these!

Vegetable Balls Recipe :

Ingredients

For the Veggie Balls :

• 2 carrots 
• 1 pumpkin 
• ¼ cup spring onions ( chopped )
• 4 cloves garlic ( chopped )
• 1 medium onion ( chopped )
• 2 large eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sugar ( optional )
• 2 – 3 tablespoons water ( adjust as needed )

For the Sauce :

• 2 cups water
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 small onion ( minced )
• 2 cloves garlic ( minced )
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Prepare the carrots by chopping off the ends and peeling the skin. Slice the pumpkin into slices, take out the seeds, and peel off the skin.
2. Grate the carrots and pumpkin. Mix these into a bowl with spring onions, garlic, onion, eggs, salt and pepper to taste, all purpose flour, and cornstarch. Optional, mix in sugar. And add a bit of water at a time. 
3. Mix until you get a nice sticky consistency. Use 2 spoons to form into a ball. Carefully drop these into a pan with hot oil. Cook until golden brown. Take these out of the pan and place these in a strainer. 
4. For the Sauce; in a pot, pour in water, brown sugar, soy sauce, onion, garlic, vinegar, all purpose flour, cornstarch, with some salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
5. Cook at medium heat until the sauce thickens. Keep mixing until it thickens. Pour this into a tall glass, place the balls in a barbecue stick, dip & enjoy!

How to make these Veggie Balls Recipe

The golden nuggets aren’t just for vegans or vegetarians to enjoy. It’s a fibrous and ‘healthy’ treat for adults and kids alike. These are also versatile enough to be eaten as a snack, appetizer, side dish, or added with some sauce to turn into a main dish. A typical meatball-or rather vegetable ball that is so easy to make and is a great addition to any meal plan. Just freeze these Vegetable balls before or after cooking ( and cooled to room temperature ). You can pop these to fry and it’s ready to eat!

To prepare these; start by chopping off the ends of the carrots then peel these and set aside. With the pumpkin, slice these into quarters or smaller to make it easier to remove the seeds, then peel off the skin. Grate both the carrots and pumpkin and place these into a bowl to be mixed with chopped spring onions for more fiber, garlic and onions as the main aromatics, eggs to bind these together, with some salt and pepper to taste. To help create the batter and keep these crisp, mix in all purpose flour and cornstarch. If you’d like it a bit more sweet add in a dash of sugar while adding a tablespoon more or less of water at a time, mixing until you get a very sticky looking batter. Form these into a ball using 2 spoons and drop these into hot oil. Repeat until all the batter has been fried. Cook these until golden grown, flipping as needed. Then take these out of the pan and place these on a strainer or over a kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.

For the sweet and savory thick sauce; in a pot mix together water, brown sugar for sweetness, soy sauce for umami, onion, garlic, vinegar for that slight tang, with all purpose flour and cornstarch to help thicken up the sauce, adding a bit of salt and pepper for taste. Mix these continuously over medium heat until it bubbles and it feels slightly thick. Once ready, place this in a tall glass or in a sauce bowl. Ready to be dipped in with the veggie balls as is, or place the veggie balls in barbecue sticks to make it feel like your usual Filipino street food-dish. Check out the other easy to enjoy these vegetable balls down below.

Questions :

• Veggie Balls Calories

There are around 70 calories per veggie ball.

• Additional Vegetable Balls Ingredients ?
  • Add 1 – 2 medium sized potatoes that are grated and squeezed for “Potato Veggie Balls”.
  • Likewise, if using ‘juicy’ vegetables like cucumber or zucchini, make sure to squeeze these well with a kitchen towel or cheesecloth after grating to make sure the batter won’t get too liquidy.
  • Other  vegan veggie balls recipes include 
  • Or make some “Baked Cauliflower Meatballs” by mixing cauliflower rice breadcrumbs, flour (or any gluten free flour), your choice of powdered flavorings, form these into balls then fry.
  • For a protein filled meatball create some “Vegetarian Meatballs Chickpeas”; this version uses canned chickpeas, drained and dried with a kitchen towel, some breadcrumbs or flour, eggs, seasonings, and grated cheese. Molded into balls then fried.
  • For a potassium and fiber filled meatball use lentils; for this “Lentil Balls Recipe” use cooked then cooled lentils, mixed with a flax meal mixed with a bit of water or simple use an egg, seasonings, other vegetables, and flour (or gluten free flour). Bake in a 350°F or 175°C preheated oven for 7 – 11 minutes or fry.
  • There also has been a nutty vegan version that many have been making. These Vegetarian Meatballs Walnuts Cheese” or searched as “Walnut Balls Vegetarian”. These are made by mixing aromatics, seasonings, crushed walnuts, oats, and tofu. Mixed or blended then formed into balls, to be baked or fried.
  • Turn this into “Chinese Veggie Balls” by adding seasonings like 5 spice powder, mushroom  powder, Sichuan peppercorn or even pepper flakes.
  • For those who want to add some meat into this “Vegetarian Meatballs Recipe”, make some “Meat and Veg Balls” by adding 200 grams more or less of ground beef, pork, or chicken. Mix this well before adding in the water.

• What to serve with Veggie Meatballs ?

You can eat these as is, over rice, placed into pasta sauce then added noodles, or even turned into a meatball sub ( sandwich ).

• How to keep these meatballs ?

If you plan to keep these to be cooked for ‘baon’ or as a ‘packed lunch’ for the next day. You can place these in an airtight container once it’s cooked down in the fridge, or if you want to keep them for a month to reheat whenever you place them in the freezer. These frozen vegetarian meatballs need to be thawed out before being baked, refried, or microwaved.

Other Yummy Veggie based Recipes!

• Sweet and Spicy Eggplant
• Eggplant Patties
• Eggplant rolls
• Teriyaki Tofu Balls
• Stir-fry Vegetables with tofu
• Ginisang Mais ( a warm aromatic a slightly spicy corn soup )
• Monggo with Gata ( Mung beans stewed in savory coconut sauce )

Vegetable Balls Resipi: (Tagalog version)

Mga Sangkap :

Para sa Veggie Balls :

• 2 karots 
• 1 kalabasa 
• ¼ tasa dahon ng sibuyas ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 4 butil ng bawang ( tiandtad )
• 1 sibuyas ( tinadtad )
• 2 malaking itlog
• Asin at paminta panlasa
• ¾ tasa all purpose flour
• ½ tasa cornstarch
• 1 kutsarang asukal ( opsyonal )
• 2 – 3 kutsarang tubig ( dagdagan lamang kung kinakailangan )

Para sa Sarsa :

• 2 tasa tubig
• ½ tasa kayumangging asukal
• 2 kutsarang soy sauce
• 1 sibuyas ( tinadtad )
• 2 butil ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• 1 kutsarang suka 
• 2 kutsarang all purpose flour
• 2 kutsarang cornstarch
• Asin at paminta panlasa

Paano Lutuin :

1. Ihanda ang mga karots; hiwain ang mga dulo nito at balatan. Hiwain ang mga kalabasa, tanggalin ang mga buto at balatan.
2. Igadgad ang mga karot at kalabasa. Haluin ito sa mangkok na may dahon ng sibuyas, bawang, sibuyas, mga itlog, asin at paminta panlasa, harina, at cornstarch. Opsyonal, haluin ng asukal at dagdagan ng kaunting tubig kung kinakailangan.
3. Paghaluin hanggang makakuha ng malagkit na batter. Gamit ang 2 kutsara, bumuo ng mga bola at ihulog ang mga ito sa kawali na may mainit na mantika. Lutuin hanggang mag-golden ang kulay. Tanggalin sa kawali at ilugar sa salaan.
4. Para sa Sarsa; sa kawali, haluin ang tubig, asukal, soy sauce, sibuyas, bawang, suka, harina, cornstarch, asin at paminta panlasa.
5. Lutuin ito sa katamtamang init hanggang kumapal ang sarsa. Ipagpatuloy ang paghalo hanggang lumapot. Ibuhos ito sa mataas na tasa, ilagay ang mga bola sa bbq stick, isawsaw at ienjoy!