Asian Inspired: Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

So.
This is from the same weekend as the cake - my quest to make things while waiting for my paycheque and quickly running out of ingredients.  Yep, get ready to see what kinds of substitutions I can make!
I love to read the blog Budget Bytes.  I think I found her originally through Pinterest and a pin for black bean quesadillas that I have yet to make.  I used her refried beans in the crockpot recipe when I make them and discovered how easy it is to make beans in the crockpot.  I spend lots of time reading, but I don't always get around to cooking.
I did, however, read her Top 20 for 2012 with interest, and saw the quesadillas that I need to get around to making.  This recipe was also in the list, and looked intriguing and simple.  Everything in them is a pantry staple.  It also gave me a reason to use my food grinder.
I grew up in a house with a Spong food grinder.  I remember helping my mother make quiche by grinding leftover ham to use in the filling.  I never really saw the point of having one.  I didn't make quiche.  What would I want to grind?  While the name brand is fun to say, you don't need to own one to do so.  Then my uncle went into a retirement home, my parents cleaned out his apartment, and my mother presented me with his food grinder that appeared to never have been used.  It then sat on my shelf for 2 years.
Seeing as I wasn't buying anything this weekend, I suddenly needed a way to produce ground chicken.  I found one.
I present to you now Budget Bytes' Teriyaki Meatball Bowls:

Ingredients

Meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
1 egg (or an egg-sized amount of mayonnaise - here we are using the eggs as a binder)
1/2 c breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 green onions, chopped (or 2 minced shallots - I had no green onions)
A few grinds black pepper
Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c water
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Method
1.  Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined.  It is easiest to use your hands.
2.  Using about 1 Tbsp of the meat mixture, roll into a ball and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet (I got 24 meatballs out of 2 chicken breasts, which made 4 servings)  Bake at 400 F for about 25-30 minutes.
3.  Combine all ingredients for the teriyaki sauce except cornstarch.  In a small bowl or cup (I like a juice glass), combine cornstarch with just enough water to make it pourable.  Add a little water at a time until it stirs easily.  Add cornstarch to sauce ingredients and cook, stirring frequently.  The sauce will thicken when it boils.  Take off heat when thickened.
4.  Add meatballs to sauce, stirring gently to coat.  Serve over rice with a sesame seed (and green onion if you have them) garnish.

Adapted from Budget Bytes

Have you ever seen a food grinder?  Here it is in pieces.  The crank handle turns, moving the screw and turning out ground food.  I chose a medium grind, using 2 of the included grinding plates.  Plus it's fun to say:  Spong.  I told you so.

Here is the ground chicken.  I sliced 2 partially frozen breasts into long strips to feed into the hopper.  Other than having frosty fingers, the whole operation took about 5 minutes.

I find when I try to grate ginger, all I end up with is grated fingers.  I minced the ginger as fine as I could, which really isn't all that fine.  I decided that seeing as the egg is a binder in this case mayonnaise would work.  It did.

Here are the meatballs ready for the oven.  I read that you could brush them with sauce, and that might have kept them less crunchy, but we didn't mind the crunch.

Here's the final product.  These smelled amazing, and tasted even better.  J says I can make these again whenever I want.  I'd like to try them with green onions, so I will try them again.  They'd freeze well for a quick supper, and would pack easily for lunch.  A total winner by our estimation.
Spong.