Thai Curry Meatballs [gluten free, paleo]

I can’t remember exactly when I discovered Thai food, but all I know is it was WAY too late in my life! I can’t believe how many years went by without understanding the deliciousness that is Thai Curry. So, to make up for the time lost, I include curry-based meals on a regular basis in my house! While I love ordering in from our local Thai Restaurant (Hot Mama Noi’s), we rarely eat out / order in to keep our food costs as low as possible. I would rather spend money on high quality ingredients, than regular nights out at restaurants that use questionable ones.

The first few curries I made used the only curry paste I could find at my standard grocery store, and while my homemade curries were good, they still didn’t taste like a traditional curry found at an authentic Thai restaurant. I knew if I made the curry paste from scratch, I would achieve much better results, but I couldn’t find the correct ingredients to do that! As luck would have it, the perfect curry paste would fall into my lap while I was searching for the perfect coconut milk!

Living with a severe dairy allergy has resulted in an obsessive relationship with coconut milk! I didn’t really love coconut when I was younger, but once I discovered my dairy allergy, I quickly grew to love the thick, creamy, deliciousness that’s found in a can of perfect coconut milk. I had already transitioned over to dairy-free using rice milk, almond milk and coconut milk beverage – but became frustrated at the cost and the questionable ingredients. I started using full-fat coconut milk, watered down to the consistency of skim milk, in my smoothies and baking and was loving the flavour and cost savings! I was more comfortable with canned coconut milk because there were fewer ingredients – simply coconut milk, water and guar gum. I turned a blind eye to the guar gum ingredient for a while, but that didn’t last long. I had previously identified that legumes were the cause of my migraines and had eliminated them from my diet, so I could not explain the occasional migraine that still levelled me. I stumbled across a website on the risks of almond milk for people with digestive sensitivities, which specifically discussed carrageenan being a gut irritant. It also mentioned that guar gum is a legume, which could pose problems in people with sensitivities! Well, that settled that. I needed to find a coconut milk that was just that – coconut milk and nothing else!

  

Enter my favourite brand – Aroy-D. I located it at my local Asian supermarket and immediately stocked up! Right beside the coconut milk, was a variety of curry pastes, also made by Aroy D. I was thrilled at how clean the ingredients were, so I took a chance and grabbed all 3 flavours. Boy was I in for a treat. Simply combining clean coconut milk with Aroy D curry paste resulted in the most perfectly creamy and flavourful curry – I swear it rivals Hot Mama Noi’s!

  

One of my favourite recipes to come out of these ingredients is my Thai Curry Meatballs! In order to keep food costs down, we eat a lot of ground meat, so getting creative is a must! The curry paste flavours the meatballs from within, and the curry coconut milk is a delicious alternative to a traditional tomato sauce. Most recently, I made them with an Asian-inspired side salad and let the meatballs stand on their own. However it is also delicious on cauliflower rice (or white rice if tolerated)!

 Combine ingredients, roll into meatballs and bake in muffin cups at 400F.  

  

Combine sauce ingredients, warm in a saucepan on low heat. 

Garnish with toppings and serve with a side salad!