Chinese meatballs are seasoned differently from the Italian version most Western cooks know. Instead of Parmesan and dried herbs, I season the meat with shiitake, Shaoxing wine, and green onion, so every bite tastes savory and a little smoky. The Instant Pot browns them and pressure cooks them in one pot, which is why this version is faster than braising on the stove.
If you’re a busy mom like me, you’ll love this recipe because it’s an easy way to get a comforting, saucy dinner on the table without spending too much time at the stove. While the Instant Pot is cooking, I make a quick bok choy stir fry and have rice going in the rice cooker at the same time. This way, I can get a complete dinner on the table in under an hour. My husband likes the meatballs best with extra sauce spooned over his rice, so I always make sure there’s plenty to go around.
I start by mixing the ground chicken into a sticky paste, then shape the meatballs by hand and brown them right in the pot before adding the sauce. Finely chopped shiitake mushrooms bring a rich umami flavor and help keep the meatballs tender. The meatballs pressure cook in just 5 minutes, then I thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry until it’s glossy and rich.
Ingredients
I split this list into the meatballs, the sauce, and the two things I keep for cooking. Most of it is pantry staples, and the mushrooms do double work by flavoring both the meat and the sauce.
Ground chicken: I use ground chicken for a tender meatball. Ground turkey works the same way, and a mix of ground pork and chicken makes a richer result if I want more flavor.
Dried shiitake mushrooms: I rehydrate dried shiitake, mince them fine, and fold them into the meat for a smoky flavor. I save the soaking water because it goes straight into the sauce.
Aromatics and seasoning: I add chopped green onion and grated garlic for fragrance, then season the meat with Shaoxing wine, salt, and sugar.
Panko and egg: I bind the meat with panko breadcrumbs and an egg so the balls stay together and hold a soft texture.
Sauce: I stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, a splash of Shaoxing wine, and the reserved shiitake liquid, then loosen it with broth. Beef broth makes the sauce richer, but chicken broth or plain water works too.
Cornstarch and oil: I whisk cornstarch into the sauce so it thickens to a glossy coat during cooking. A little peanut oil browns the meatballs, and vegetable oil does the same job.
How to Make
1. Rehydrate the shiitake: Place the dried shiitake in a small bowl and cover them with hot water. Let them soak until soft all the way through, then rinse them in the soaking water and squeeze out the excess. Reserve the soaking liquid and mince the mushrooms finely.
2. Mix the meat paste: In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, green onion, garlic, minced shiitake, a spoonful of the soaking liquid, Shaoxing wine, salt, and sugar. Stir in one circular direction until the mixture turns sticky and holds together like a paste, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the binder: Add the panko and the egg. Mix again until everything comes together into one firm ball.
4. Roll the meatballs: Roll the mixture between your palms into balls, each about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Set them aside on a separate plate.
5. Mix the sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well. Set it aside so the cornstarch is ready to whisk again before it goes in.
6. Heat the pot: Set your Instant Pot to the Saute function and add the oil. Wait until the indicator shows HOT.
7. Brown the meatballs: Add the meatballs to the pot, leaving a little space between each one. Let them cook without moving until the bottom is browned, then flip to brown the other side, about 5 minutes total. Work in two rounds if the pot is crowded, removing the browned batch and letting the pot reheat before the next.
8. Add the sauce: Turn off the Saute function and return any meatballs you set aside to the pot. Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely, then pour it over the meatballs.
9. Pressure cook: Seal the Instant Pot and lock the valve. Set it to Manual, High Pressure, and cook for 5 minutes. When it finishes, use Quick Release or switch the valve to vent, depending on your model.
10. Serve: Serve the meatballs hot over steamed rice or boiled noodles, spooning the sauce on top.
My Cooking Tips
Stir the meat in one direction until it is sticky: The one direction mixing pulls the protein into strands, and that is what makes the meatballs springy instead of crumbly.
Save every drop of the shiitake water: The soaking liquid is concentrated mushroom stock, so I reserve it for the sauce instead of pouring it down the drain. It deepens the savory note more than plain broth alone.
Do not skip the browning, and do not crowd the pot: I tested these with and without browning, and the unbrowned batch was edible but pale and loose. A tight pot steams the meatballs instead, so I leave space between each one and work in two rounds if needed. The browned crust tastes deeper, looks far better, and holds its shape through pressure cooking.
Reach for beef broth if you want a richer pot: During testing I used beef broth once because there was no chicken broth in the fridge, and the sauce came out noticeably richer. I reach for it now whenever I want the sauce to taste fuller.
Whisk the sauce again right before it goes in: Cornstarch settles to the bottom of the bowl while the meatballs brown, so I stir it hard one more time before pouring. That is how the sauce thickens smooth instead of clumping.
How I love Serving This
These meatballs are a saucy main, so I ladle them over hot rice and let the sauce run down into the grains. On a plain weeknight that bowl is the whole dinner, and I add a quick plate of baby bok choy stir fry on the side for something green and crisp. My husband takes the leftovers to work the next day and says they taste even better once the sauce has soaked in overnight.
To make it a full meal, I open with a bowl of light Chinese egg drop soup and a cold Chinese cucumber salad while the pot finishes. Then I swap the plain rice for a plate of garlic fried rice, which holds the extra sauce better than steamed grains do. The crunchy cucumber keeps the plate from going all soft, so no one tires of the meatballs halfway through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my meatballs come out dense instead of tender?
Dense meatballs are often the result of packing the meat mixture too tightly when shaping, using ground chicken that’s too lean, or leaving out the panko and egg. I like to mix the filling until it forms a sticky paste so the meatballs hold together, but I use a light hand when rolling them to keep the texture tender. The finely chopped shiitake mushrooms also help add moisture and keep the meatballs juicy.
What if I am using fresh shiitake instead of dried?
Fresh shiitake work well, but they do not leave behind the concentrated soaking liquid that flavors the sauce. In that case I use broth or water in place of the reserved mushroom liquid so the sauce still has enough body.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge and freezer?
These meatballs hold up really well in a sealed container, in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for longer. To reheat from frozen, I thaw them overnight in the fridge, then warm them in the microwave until hot through. The sauce actually tastes better the next day once it has soaked into the meat.
Can I make these chicken meatballs without an Instant Pot?
Yes! You can make these meatballs in a large skillet or Dutch oven on the stovetop. Brown the meatballs as directed, then add the sauce and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Remove the lid and thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry before serving.
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I love making these Instant Pot meatballs from tender ground chicken rolled with shiitake mushrooms and green onion, then brown and pressure cook them in a savory oyster sauce. It is a saucy weeknight main with real Chinese flavor, and my recipe is ready in 40 minutes.
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Prep
Place the dried shiitake mushrooms in a small bowl and cover them with hot water. Let them rehydrate until soft throughout. Gently rinse the mushrooms in the rehydrating water then squeeze out the excess liquid. Reserve the soaking liquid. Finely mince the mushrooms.
In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, green onions, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, 1 tablespoon of soaking liquid, shaoxing wine, salt, and sugar. Mix in a circular motion until it forms a paste that feels sticky.
Add the panko and the egg, and mix again until everything comes together in one firm ball.
Roll balls of the mixture with the palm of your hand, about 1-2 tablespoons each. Set the rolled meatballs aside on a separate plate.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium-size bowl and set aside.
Cook
Turn your Instant Pot to the “Saute” function and add oil. Wait until the indicator shows “HOT”.
Add the meatballs into the Instant Pot. Leave a small amount of space between each of them. Let them cook without moving, until the bottom side is browned. Flip to brown the other side. It will take a total of about 5 minutes. You may need to do two rounds of browning. In that case, take the browned meatballs out of the Instant Pot, allow the pot to get hot again, and add the next round.
Once all the meatballs are browned, turn off the saute function and put any meatballs you may have taken out of the pot back in. Stir the sauce to dissolve the cornstarch completely and pour it over the meatballs.
Seal the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is locked. Set to “Manual”, “High pressure”, and cook for 5 minutes. Once done cooking, press the “Quick Release” on the lid or switch the valve to unlock using a spatula (depending on your Instant Pod model).
Serve hot over steamed rice or boiled noodles.
Ingredient Substitution Guide
- You can also use ground turkey, or a mix of ground pork and chicken to create a more flavorful result.
- Use broth or water if you’re using fresh mushrooms and do not have any soaking liquid.
- During one of the recipe test runs, we used beef broth because we didn’t have chicken broth on hand. The result turned out SO GOOD. I highly recommend using beef broth if you want a richer sauce.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 87kcal, Carbohydrates: 5.6g, Protein: 8.5g, Fat: 3.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.8g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 131mg, Potassium: 81mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 0.9g, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1mg
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