These sticky Asian inspired meatballs are so simple and quick to make, and you only need a handful of ingredients. It’s the kind of dish you’ll want to make when you’ve had a long day and don’t want to overthink dinner.

You can make the meatballs ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. Pop them in the oven and by the time the noodles are cooked and the sauce is bubbling, they’ll be done and dinner is served. It’s not a sophisticated recipe by no means, or even remotely traditional – it’s merely Asian inspired. I’m just using pantry ingredients, because sometimes you don’t happen to have mirin on hand, but there’s still plenty of possibilities and ways to make a recipe work. Most dinner recipes are incredibly flexible and forgiving, so even though you might not get the exact flavours as the original, you’ll still probably end up with something pretty delicious. Just follow the instructions, be resourceful and you’ll be fine.

This recipe is exactly that: I didn’t have a lot of Asian ingredients on hand, so I kept things simple, but without spoiling the integrity of the dish. The result was an incredibly quick, easy, and filling dinner. Don’t over bake the meatballs and they’ll be juicy and tender. That’s about it.

You can toss in some veggies like sugar snap peas, bok choy or broccoli, and sprinkle with (lots) of chopped cilantro, too – fortunately for me, I don’t have the cilantro gene. One of my best qualities, if you ask me.