Korean Chinese Meatballs or Nanja Wans is one of the most popular dishes among Koreans. Deep-fried crispy meatballs are flash cooked in a light savory sauce that’s packed with umami flavors. And wonderful crunchy vegetables like bok choy and shitake add a light crunchy and chewy texture.
Nanja Wans (난자완스) comes from the Chinese dish 南煎丸子 (Nanjen Wanjjeu 난젠완쯔) but has become so popular that a Chinese restaurant always had it on their menu when I was growing up. Now, perhaps not as much. But anyway, this is such a classic that brings back many memories to me.
Going back to when I was in elementary school, the hardest choice for my brother and I back then 😂🤣 was whether to order this dish or order the other classic – sweet and sour pork (Tangsuyuk 탕수육). Because both were just sooo yummy and we just couldn’t choose.
And of course, after that… the next hard decision was whether we should order Jajangmyeon, Jjamppong or Gunmandu (Fried Potstickers).. and mind you, this was all for just TWO. 😝Decisions, decisions…HAHAHA. Needless to say, my brother was partly to blame for my chubbiness 😬…
Nanja Wans is usually only available in a Korean Chinese restaurant in the US. And those restaurants only exist in areas where there’s a big Korean American population. So, there have been several requests for a Nanja Wans recipe over the years. And so I have been thinking that I needed to develop one soon… but then I happen to see my good friend Stephany Kim’s Instagram (@cooking_visuals) with pictures of her teaching this dish in her cooking classes!!
Stephany is an amazing cook (I know because I’ve had the fortune to eat her cooking). And I have been wanting to support her and spread the word about her wonderful cooking classes that she started just this year. I asked her to share her Nanja Wans recipe here with my readers so that you get at taste of how good it is and then for people who live in the area, they can sign up for her class!
If you live near Reston, Virginia and you are into foods like Seafood Paella, Japanese Tempura and Udon, Tamago Sandwich and Ohyang Jang Yuk (Chinese Five Spice pork) then you are in luck. She does amazing cooking classes with the most delicious Korean Japanese, Korean Chinese and Korean Italian (if there’s such a thing.. haha). She also has a background in design so her plating and table setting is really elegant and beautiful as you see can see below –
Well, so I followed her recipe and made this dish today and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. My husband and I finished the whole dish even though it was meant for 3! The meatballs are very well seasoned and had the perfect texture. And I loved how there were a lot of different vegetables when compared to restaurant versions.
Chef’s Tip about Chinese Cooking
- Chinese cooking is all about quick cooking on high heat. So, it’s very important that you have everything prepared and ready to go before you start cooking. It’s called mise en place in French and it’s important for any cooking but especially for Chinese cuisine. If you miss the timing then you will end up with overcooked soggy ingredients which is just not going to be very good.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare a vegetable tray:
- Cut bell peppers, onion, shitake and king mushrooms into squares (1 x 1 inch). Drain bamboo shoots from can and slice them lengthwise into quarters then into thin slices. Rinse bok choy and slice them lengthwise into halves or quarters. Cut green onions 2-inch lengths. Rinse enoki mushrooms and split them into smaller bunches. Chop garlic and also slice thin few cloves. Chop ginger.
Cut Vegetables for Nanja Wans
- Cut bell peppers, onion, shitake and king mushrooms into squares (1 x 1 inch). Drain bamboo shoots from can and slice them lengthwise into quarters then into thin slices. Rinse bok choy and slice them lengthwise into halves or quarters. Cut green onions 2-inch lengths. Rinse enoki mushrooms and split them into smaller bunches. Chop garlic and also slice thin few cloves. Chop ginger.
- Prepare seasoning tray for sauce:
- Measure out chicken or seafood broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, cooking wine (sake, mirin ok), chopped garlic and ginger. Some sesame oil (a swirl), sesame seeds (sprinkling).
Prepared Seasoning and Aromatics for Sauce
- Measure out chicken or seafood broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, cooking wine (sake, mirin ok), chopped garlic and ginger. Some sesame oil (a swirl), sesame seeds (sprinkling).
- In a bowl, mix ground pork, corn starch, egg, sugar, salt, black pepper and chopped garlic and ginger. It is best to mix with your hands and then form it into one giant ball then throw it down onto a cutting board 3-4 times. This way, the mixture really binds well.
Meatballs Mixture 
Meatball Mixture thrown onto a cutting board - Make meatball patties with the pork mixture from 3. Each about 2.5 inch wide and 1/3 inch thick. To make extra crispy meatballs, I found that it’s best to not smooth it out. This is very easy to do as the mixture will stick to your hands anyway.
Meatball Patties for Deep Fry - Heat a deep frying pan or a wok with vegetable oil to 325 – 340 °F. Or until it makes a crackling sound when you throw some salt crystals into it.
- When oil is hot, deep fry the meatballs in the pan until it is nicely browned. Set aside.
Meatballs Frying in Oil - Heat up the chicken broth in the microwave so it’s very warm or hot. This is so the temperature won’t go down when you add to the wok.
Make sure all the ingredients are set up next to your stove. And let’s FINISH IT!
- Heat a wok on HIGH HEAT with 2 -3 Tbs of oil (leftover oil from frying) and stir fry aromatics – garlic slices, ginger and green onions. This infuses a great flavor into the oil.
- Then add and stir fry vegetables for couple minutes on high heat. In this order: onions -> bok choy -> bell pepper -> shitake -> king mushrooms.
- To the vegetables, add rice wine, soy sauce, fish sauce and then WARM broth. Stir.
Vegetables and Broth in Pan - Add fried meatballs and mix lightly. Then stir up the corn starch slurry and add. Mix and continue to cook for another couple minutes until sauce thickens.
Nanja Wans in Pan - Turn off heat, drizzle sesame oil to finish. Plate and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Nanja Wans (Korean Chinese Meatballs) – RECIPE and PHOTO BY STEPHANY KIM
And here’s mine! I think mine looks darker because I browned it a bit more (I like mine to be extra crispy) and also it’s a different camera and lighting!
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
- Serve with some rice or egg fried rice, or Haepari Naengche for an awesome Korean Chinese dinner party with friends.
- For a quick family meal, serve with some rice, Korean yellow radish pickles (Danmuji) and Kimchi. Basically you need something tangy and sweet to compliment this savor and hearty dish.
If you enjoyed this recipe and want to learn more Korean-Chinese or Korean-Japanese cooking, please remember to follow @cooking_visuals on Instagram and check out her cooking classes if you are interested!!
If you liked this recipe, please leave me a comment and ☆☆☆☆☆ rating below!
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Nanja Wans (Korean Chinese Meatballs)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 450 g ground pork (can mix beef and pork or beef only)
- 4 Tbsp corn starch
- 2 each eggs
- 1 tsp sea salt (Trader Joe's) - I used 3/4 tsp
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp ginger (grated or finely chopped)
- 1 tsp garlic (chopped)
Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth (or seafood broth)
- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp cooking sake (or mirin)
- 2 tsp garlic (chopped or sliced)
- 1 tsp ginger (grated)
- 1 dash sesame oil
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/3 cup water (reduce to 2 Tbs for thicker sauce)
Vegetables
- 4 green onions
- 1/2 onion
- 5 bok choy (sliced in half)
- 1/2 bell pepper (red or green)
- 3 pcs bamboo shoots (canned)
- 5 dried shitake mushrooms (or fresh)
- 2 king mushrooms (optional)
- 1/2 enoki mushrooms
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
Prepare a vegetable tray:
- Cut bell peppers, onion, shitake and king mushrooms into squares (1 x 1 inch). Drain bamboo shoots from can and slice them lengthwise into quarters then into thin slices. Rinse bok choy and slice them lengthwise into halves or quarters. Cut green onions 2-inch lengths. Rinse enoki mushrooms and split them into smaller bunches. Chop garlic and also slice thin few cloves. Chop ginger.
Prepare seasoning tray for sauce:
- Measure out chicken or seafood broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, cooking wine (sake, mirin ok), chopped garlic and ginger. Some sesame oil (a swirl), sesame seeds (sprinkling).
- In a bowl, mix ground pork, corn starch, egg, sugar, salt, black pepper and chopped garlic and ginger. It is best to mix with your hands and then form it into one giant ball then throw it down onto a cutting board 3-4 times. This way, the mixture really binds well.
- Make meatball patties with the pork mixture from 3. Each about 2.5 inch wide and 1/3 inch thick. To make extra crispy meatballs, I found that it's best to not smooth it out. This is very easy to do as the mixture will stick to your hands anyway.
- Heat a deep frying pan or a wok with vegetable oil to 325 - 340 °F. Or until it makes a crackling sound when you throw some salt crystals into it.
- When oil is hot, deep fry the meatballs in the pan until it is nicely browned. Take them out and set aside.
- Heat up the chicken broth in the microwave so it's nice and warm. This is so the temperature won't go down too much when you add to the wok.
Let's put it together. Have ingredients ready to go next to your stove before starting.
- Heat a wok on HIGH HEAT with 2 -3 Tbs of oil from 6 and stir fry aromatics - garlic slices, ginger and green onions. This infuses a great flavor into the oil.
- Then add and stir fry vegetables for couple minutes on high heat. In this order: onions -> bok choy -> bell pepper -> shitake -> king mushrooms.
- To the vegetables, add rice wine, soy sauce, fish sauce and then WARM broth. Stir.
- Add fried meatballs and mix lightly. Then stir up the corn starch slurry and add. Mix and continue to cook for another couple minutes until sauce thickens.
- Turn off heat, drizzle sesame oil to finish. Plate and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Equipment
- wok
- deep frying pan
Tips & Notes:
- RECIPE by Stephany Kim IG @cooking_visuals
- I found the sauce to be a bit bland so I added some extra salt and soy sauce.
- If you find the sauce to be to thin, I suggest you change the recipe for the slurry to be 1 Tbs cornstarch + 2 Tbs water (instead of 1 Tbs cornstarch for 1/3 c water) for 1 cup of broth.
- Serve with some rice or egg fried rice, or Haepari Naengche for an awesome Korean Chinese dinner party with friends.
- For an easy family meal, serve with some rice, Korean yellow radish pickles (Danmuji) and Kimchi. Basically you need something tangy and sweet to compliment this savor and hearty dish.
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