Growing up in the Philippines, one of my favourite dishes growing up was a Sweet and Sour Bola-Bola (Meatballs) dish packed with a delicious sauce, lots of bell peppers, onions, pineapple, carrot. I used my homemade bola-bola or meatballs and the sauce beautifully coats the fried balls for a super tasty meal.
The sauce is a delicate balance of sweet, sour, and somewhat fruity flavours. It also has an acidic kick but you can of course adjust the measurements of the sauce to suit your taste.
MEATBALLS OR BOLA-BOLA
Bola-Bola is literally ‘ball-ball’ that perfectly reflects the round shape of the meatballs. I made my own homemade Filipino Bola Bola or Meatballs (recipe here) that I used for this recipe.
SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
- sugar adjust according to desired sweetness
- distilled white vinegar
- pineapple juice ur syrup/liquid from the chunks
- banana ketchup or tomato ketchup, I used a mix
- soy sauce
- water
- cornstarch
- Dash of ground pepper
See the full recipe below!
FOR STIR-FRYING
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 small carrot halved and thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and sliced into small squares
- 1 small green bell pepper seeded and sliced into small squares
- 1 cup pineapple chunks or tidbits in extra light syrup/juice, around 120g
WHAT TO DO
- Once the pan or wok is hot, stir-fry the onion, carrot, and bell peppers for 2-3 minutes until the carrots are tender.
- Add in the pineapple chunks and cook for 1 minutes
- Lower the heat to medium. Give the sauce a good mix again since the starch tends to sit at the bottom.
- Over medium heat, pour in the sauce to the pan.
- Mix well and then leave the sauce to boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Continuously mix until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add in the bola-bola or meat balls and immediately mix well in the sauce. Leave the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
ENJOY YOUR SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS OR BOLA-BOLA
These meatballs are best enjoyed with some rice for a really hearty meal!
MORE FILIPINO VEGAN RECIPES
- Adobo
- Tokwa’t Baboy
- Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
- Mushroom Tocino
- Filipino Fried Garlic Rice
- Filipino Lumpiang Gulay or Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Filipino “Pork” Barbecue
- Crispy Tofu Sisig
- Tofu and Mushroom Salpicao
Vegan Sweet and Sour Meatballs (Filipino Bola-Bola)
Growing up in the Philippines, one of my favourite dishes growing up was a Sweet and Sour Bola-Bola (Meatballs) dish packed with a delicious sauce, lots of bell peppers, onions, pineapple, carrot. I used my homemade bola-bola or meatballs and the sauce beautifully coats the fried balls for a super tasty meal.
Ingredients
- 20 pieces bola-bola or meatballs , see homemade recipe here
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar adjust according to desired sweetness
- 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice from the chunks see notes
- 5 tbsp banana ketchup or tomato ketchup, I used a mix
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- Dash of ground pepper
For Stir-Frying
- 1-2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 small carrot halved and thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and sliced into small squares
- 1 small green bell pepper seeded and sliced into small squares
- 1 cup pineapple chunks or tidbits in extra light syrup/juice, around 120g
To Serve
- Steamed Rice
Instructions
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a large bowl or measuring cup. Mix until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
Stir-Frying
- Heat a pan or wok over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tbsp neutral oil.
- Once hot, stir-fry the onion, carrot, and bell peppers for 2-3 minutes until the carrots are tender.
- Add in the pineapple chunks and cook for 1 minutes
- Lower the heat to medium. Give the sauce a good mix again since the starch tends to sit at the bottom.
- Over medium heat, pour in the sauce to the pan.
- Mix well and then leave the sauce to boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Continuously mix until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add in the bola-bola or meat balls and immediately mix well in the sauce. Leave the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat then serve the sweet and sour bola-bola or meatballs immediately. Enjoy this while hot with some steamed rice.
WATCH Video
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
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This Post Has 2 Comments
These were SOOO good. On a whim, we made these for an appetizer party so I didn’t make the rice. We are NOT Filipino so we really went in blind but sweet and sour meatballs sounded good. We followed your Bola-Bola recipe to a T. We really had to trust the process. Ours were pretty wet so we struggled “balling” them but an ice cream scooper helped. They were also pretty white so looked unappetizing. But, we went for it anyway. We are SOO happy we did. They fried a nice golden brown after 4.5 minutes. We tasted one and said it actually tasted a little plain and wished we seasoned it more. I made the sauce by sautéing red bell pepper and carrot until just under firm (I don’t like a mushy carrot). I added the sauce and really questioned whether it would thicken. It turned out great! I accidentally purchased crushed pineapple instead of tidbits but it worked very well too! I added and covered the meatballs once the sauce thickened. Instead of the green bell pepper in the saute, I sprinkled the top with finely chopped scallion to serve. It was a HIT at the party. We all loved it and will definitely make again!
Hi Kaitlin! Made me so so happy reading this. Thank you so much too for giving my recipe a try! ✨