Meatloaf. As kids, it was a dreaded dinner for most, typically served with lumpy mashed potatoes and a mushy vegetable. It was many a moms last minute, throw it together dinner, made without much love. Blah.
I’ve always had a soft spot for meatloaf. My mom made a mean one, wrapped in bacon – good, fattening stuff. I still love it and make it a few times a year. Now I’ve had my share of meatloaf disasters over the years. Tends to be when I’m in the mood for some comfort food but at the wrong restaurant. I just don’t get how something so perfectly simple gets butchered time after time.
I have a basic meatloaf recipe, and I switch it up and build upon it. The basic formula is 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat, 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs or other filler, a diced onion and 2 eggs. That’s it. From there, you can mix it up however you like. Add peppers and veggies, mix in Worcestershire sauce, wine, tomato sauce, soy sauce, anchovy paste, barbecue sauce, ketchup or horseradish and add whatever seasonings you prefer.
So my original inspiration for this meatloaf was a recipe cut out from some unknown magazine circa 1970’s. It called for ground beef, crushed chow mein noodles, onions, egg, buttermilk, and soy sauce. Even with the modifications I made – it was not so good. The chow mein noodles gave it an odd taste and a splash of soy sauce hardly gave it any kind of asian feel.
Still, an Asian inspired meatloaf sounded too good to not make right. Thinking further about it – I decided to play on one of my favorite bites to eat at most Chinese restaurants – steamed dumplings.
Ground pork, panko, asian inspired seasonings, soy sauce, mirin and hoisin resulted in a moist and flavorful meatloaf – I was beyond pleased with it. It made a perfect dinner served with a big side of white rice.
I do hope you give meatloaf another chance. This certainly would be a great recipe to start with. Give it a try – I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Thanks for reading!
XOXO
-Amanda-
- 1½ lbs ground pork
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup panko
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- dash pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- chives or scallions (optional)
- Pull pork out about half an hour before starting.
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease/prep a loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine onions, garlic, panko, and spices.
- Mix in ground pork, eggs, soy sauce and mirin.
- Spoon meatloaf mixture into loaf pan, making sure it's packed firmly. Spoon hoisin sauce over top of meatloaf. Alternatively, you can form a loaf and bake on a baking sheet or casserole dish.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Carefully pour out as much grease as you can. Cut and serve. Sprinkle with snipped chives or scallions if desired.
- Enjoy : )
Yummy, Waoo what a nice and tasty recipe to make for family in dinner