Air Fryer Pork and Chive Meatballs

Name: Air Fryer Pork and Chive Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 26 min
Yield: Makes 16 meatballs
Cuisine: Air Fryer
Ingredients: 500 g pork mince (ground pork); ½ cup chives or garlic chives, finely chopped; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 tbsp (16 g) soy sauce; 2 tsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp (8 g) cornflour (cornstarch); 2 tbsp (30 g) iced water; 2 tbsp (32 g) soy sauce (for dipping); 1 tbsp (15 g) rice vinegar (for dipping); 1 tsp chilli oil (for dipping)

Dumpling-filling meatballs with a soy dipping sauce.

Prep Time15 mins

Air Fry11 mins

Temp190°C / 375°F

YieldMakes 16 meatballs

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Before You Start

This is the inside of a pork and chive dumpling, rolled into meatballs and browned in the basket, with the dumpling dipping sauce on the side. All the flavour of a gyoza session with none of the pleating. A spoonful of iced water worked into the mince is the old dumpling trick that keeps them juicy.

Instructions

Mix the pork, chives, ginger, garlic, the tablespoon of soy, sesame oil and cornflour in a bowl.
Add the iced water and stir the mix in one direction for a minute until it turns slightly sticky and pasty. This is the dumpling-filling texture you want.
Roll into 16 balls with damp hands.
Preheat the air fryer to 190°C / 375°F for 3 minutes. Air fry the meatballs in a single layer for 10 to 11 minutes until golden and cooked through, 71°C / 160°F inside.
Stir the dipping sauce together: soy, rice vinegar and chilli oil.
Serve the meatballs with the sauce, over rice or noodles, or with lettuce leaves for wrapping.

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Ingredients

Scale the recipe

500 g pork mince (ground pork)
½ cup chives or garlic chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp (16 g) soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp (8 g) cornflour (cornstarch)
2 tbsp (30 g) iced water
2 tbsp (32 g) soy sauce (for dipping)
1 tbsp (15 g) rice vinegar (for dipping)
1 tsp chilli oil (for dipping)

Air fryer tip

Cook at 190°C / 375°F and keep everything in a single layer so it crisps instead of steams. Tap any pantry ingredient above to convert between cups and grams.

♨️ Air fryer notes

Cook at 190°C / 375°F and preheat for 2 to 3 minutes for the crispiest result.
Keep everything in a single layer with space around each piece. Overcrowding steams food instead of crisping it, so cook in batches if your basket is small.
Shake or turn halfway, and check a few minutes early, since air fryers cook faster than ovens and every model runs slightly differently.

💡 Cook's tips

Stirring one direction until sticky is real, not superstition. It aligns the proteins so the meatballs hold juice instead of crumbling.
Garlic chives (kow choy) are the authentic green here and worth a trip to an Asian grocer.

🔀 Make it your own

Add finely chopped water chestnuts for crunch.
The same mix stuffs wonton wrappers if you do feel like pleating after all.

📦 Storing & reheating

Fridge for 3 days, reheated at 180°C for 4 minutes. They freeze cooked for 2 months, and from frozen reheat at 180°C for 7 to 8 minutes.

❓ Frequently asked

Why add water to meatball mince?

A little iced water worked in before cooking turns to steam inside the meatball and keeps lean pork juicy. It's standard in dumpling fillings for the same reason.

What internal temperature should pork meatballs reach?

71°C / 160°F in the centre. At tablespoon size that lands at 10 to 11 minutes at 190°C / 375°F in a preheated basket.

Adapting your own recipe? Use the oven to air fryer converter for temp and time, or the recipe scaler to halve or double this.

A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.

Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.