Chicken and Rice Meatballs in Creamy Mustard Sauce

 Swedish Chicken Meatballs Recipe, 

alias Homemade Ikea recipe!

This classic menu item served in Ikea cafeterias is so hugely popular! If you haven't tried it yet, then I would suggest you make a trip to Ikea. Or otherwise make this simple recipe chez vous using simple ingredients! It's easy and I personally find the selection of various ingredients very interesting. The Ikea recipe uses beef and pork but this version uses chicken. The meatballs drenched in the creamy mustard sauce will be a big hit, a recipe to keep!

Preparation time: total 1 hour

For 4 persons

The ingredients are:

450g minced chicken (deboned meat from the thighs are more juice than using chicken breast)

1 egg

120g old mushy rice (the rice has to be at room temperature)

1 onion, grated

2 garlic pods, minced

1 tbsp soy sauce (this is my personal addition that gives a burst of flavor, I recommend trying it!)

salt, pepper (go easy on the salt as soy sauce contains it already)

2 tbsp of flour or breadcrumbs

For the sauce :

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp mustard paste

3 tbsp thick cream or sour cream or yoghurt

400ml chicken stock

Extra:

4 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

Chopped parsley or chives, for garnish

Method:

1. Mix the minced chicken with all of the ingredients mentioned. The finished texture shouldn't be soggy but firm enough to form the meatballs. If the mix is soggy, keep adding more flour until it is firm.

2. Start making the meatballs. You can make them round shaped. I prefer flat so that it cooks well in my flat-bottomed pan. The meatballs should be half the size of your pan and not too thick.

3. Heat a pan on medium-high flame. Add in 4 tbsp of vegetable oil. Once the oil is heated put in all of the meatballs. I had to make this in two separate batches. The meatballs need cooking 5-6 minutes on each side. Once done, remove from pan and place on absorbent paper.

4. Use the same pan to make the sauce. Remove excess oil from the pan. There should remain just about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Add in the butter now.

5. Add the flour and mustard paste at the same time. Stir well until you achieve an even thick texture. At this point add in the hot chicken stock bit by bit until the sauce consistency is even.

6. Reduce the flame to low-medium and add in the cream. Check seasoning.  ( Reminder: The stock already contains salt )

7. Place the meatballs in the sauce. Cover the pan and let it cook for 10 minutes so that the meatballs get drenched in the delicious creamy sauce. 

8. Once cooked, let it cool down for at least 5 minutes before opening the cover and garnishing it with chopped parsley leaves.

This is best served with an accompaniment of buttery mashed potatoes to relish every bit of the juicy meatballs and creamy sauce! Go ahead and wow your family and friends with this recipe! :) Bon appétit!