Umami Ginger Meatball Bar
One recipe—endless ways to enjoy!
- Wheat
- Soy
- Fish
- Eggs
Hard to find one option that pleases everyone? Introducing our chef-curated “perfect plates,” where everyone can build their own bowl. This one stars gingery beef meatballs, fluffy rice, tender roasted carrots, and a lineup of tantalizing toppers—tangy cucumber salad, umami ponzu sauce, Sriracha mayo, cilantro, and crispy fried onions.
Ingredients
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
12 ounce
Carrots
1 unit
Cucumber
¼ ounce
Cilantro
10 ounce
Ground Beef
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
½ cup
Umami Ginger Sauce
(Contains: Wheat, Soy)
12 milliliters
Ponzu Sauce
(Contains: Wheat, Soy, Fish)
10 teaspoon
Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
1 teaspoon
Sriracha
1 unit
Crispy Fried Onions
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon
Cooking Oil
1 teaspoon
Sugar
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust racks to top and middle positions and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • In a small pot, combine rice, 11⁄4 cups water (21⁄4 cups for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve. TIP: If you added any other items to your meal (apps, sides, and/or dessert), you can get started on them now!
• While rice cooks, trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into 1⁄2-inch-thick pieces. Trim and halve cucumber lengthwise; slice crosswise into 1⁄4-inch-thick half-moons. Roughly chop cilantro.
• Toss carrots on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes.
• While carrots roast, in a large bowl, gently combine beef*, panko, 1 TBSP umami ginger sauce (2 TBSP for 4 servings), salt (we used 1⁄2 tsp; 1 tsp for 4), and pepper. (You’ll use the rest of the umami ginger sauce later.) Form into 10 11⁄2-inch meatballs (20 meatballs for 4). • Arrange meatballs on a second lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast on middle rack until browned and cooked though, 12-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small microwave-safe bowl, combine ponzu, remaining umami ginger sauce, and 1 TBSP vinegar (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until warmed through, 60-90 seconds. TIP: If you like a sweeter sauce, stir in a pinch of sugar from your pantry. • In a separate small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Sriracha to taste.
• In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, remaining vinegar, 1 tsp sugar (2 tsp sugar for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Fluff rice with a fork. • Serve rice, roasted carrots, umami ginger meatballs, cucumber salad, umami ponzu sauce, Sriracha mayo, cilantro, and crispy fried onions family style and let everyone build their own plate.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the umami flavors and sauce combinations, though some found the ginger taste too strong.
- Ease of prep: While tasty, several noted it took longer to prepare than expected due to multiple components.
- Suggestions: Consider pan-searing meatballs for extra crispiness; some added ginger to rice for more flavor pop 🍚.
- Portions: A few wanted more rice or meatballs; others found the cucumber amount excessive.
- Customization: Customers enjoyed the build-your-own-bowl concept, making it great for families with varied tastes 🎉.
Reviews from our home cooks
We really liked the flavor combinations! The meatballs were very easy to cook and came out perfectly. The "bar" concept is fun and easy for a family style dinner.
Oh mami Umami!! I have not cooked umami so this was new and really terrific for us! We will definitely order this again! And we like the whole 'bar' concept!! Kudos!
Ingredients and flavors are great, rice is somewhat a cheap base and doesn't feel like value. Something about the recipe, my cook isn't able to make the veggies or meatballs crisp or crunchy. Maybe we should sear it or something. It is really good, we'll try again. But the meatballs and carrots have so much more potential for crunch and crisp.
Very delicious meatballs and balanced meal. Sauce was so simple but also very tasty.
I loved the variety of toppings and sauces, the ginger sauce in particular was addictive and packed with flavor.
Complex but very good flavors! I opted to not use the rice wine vinegar on the cucumbers because it was really strong but it was nice to have the fresh cucumber taste.
My family likes to keep foods separate. They are sometimes suspicious of what "healthy hello fresh" food I'm serving. So I really have liked these "bars" that you've added to the weekly options. All the components can be individually added, plus I didn't have that many new dishes to wash.
Bar style is nice with lots of options. Ingredients complimented each other.
All the flavors coming together in this dish were amazing! This was one of the most delicious meals we have had.
This was a fun new twist on a classic. We enjoyed all the flavors together and appreciate the rice portion increased.
