(Chicago) –  Embutido is a Filipino meat loaf. It is meat mixture formed in a foot-long log, wrapped in foil, steamed and served in slices. Some cook it twice by pan frying the embutido slices to gain some color and crunch.

So if you are serving embutido in a party, your Filipino guests knows exactly what to expect. In my last house party, I thought of serving embutido with a little twist to make it more appropriate for a cocktail settings.  Instead of making it look like meat loaf and steaming it, I formed it into small balls and roasted in the oven. I dribbled ginger-scallion oil to turn up the volume.  The balls are well portioned, moist and with a good browning while retaining the original flavors of embutido. It’s a bite-sized success!  🙂

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs ground pork
  • 1 ½ cups ham, diced
  • 2 cups carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 big onion, finely chopped
  • 1 head of garlic, crushed
  • 3 tablespoon pickle relish
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 6 salted eggs, cut into eighteenth (optional)

Ginger-Scallion Oil:

  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
  • 6 stalks green onion, finely chopped

Directions:

Except for the salted eggs, combine all the embutido ingredients in a big bowl and mix thoroughly with your bare clean hands. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour to let the flavors marry together.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Form the meat mixture into golf size balls. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture and form it round in your hand.  Insert a small piece of salted egg in the middle and seal the side of ball to hide the egg. Line up the balls in a baking sheet, one inch apart.  Put the trays in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

While the balls are cooking, prepare the ginger-scallion sauce. Combine ginger, scallion and soy sauce in a small heat proof bowl. Heat the oil in a small sauce pan until hints of smoke appear on the surface. Remove from heat right away and pour over ginger-scallion mix. Savor the aroma; it’s fantastic! Stir well.

Transfer the balls to a serving dish and drizzle some ginger-scallion oil.