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Waikiki-Style Meatballs

"These sweet and sour meatballs are always a hit at parties. My mom sometimes takes shortcuts and uses pre-made meatballs from a bag, which, after spending a few hours in the slow cooker, taste fine. I like these best when they are made completely from scratch! Ground turkey works too, but doesn't hold its shape as well. To turn into a meal, heat rice to serve with the dish. The serving size refers to this dish as a main meal, but when served as an hors d'oeuvre, easily can feed 10 to 13 people. Sometimes I do not add the cornstarch into the sauce, and just allow it to boil for a bit longer, but the cornstarch really does yield the best result."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Waikiki-Style Meatballs

Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Waikiki-Style Meatballs

6 servings
Prep15 min
Cook3 hr 30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1141Calories
56 gProtein
30 gFat
158 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Green Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Pineapple + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together533 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Milk + pineappletop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together885 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, milk, egg, sugar, pineapple, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Tomatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, milk, egg, sugar, pineapple, vinegar, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.