Spiced Hoisin Beef Meatballs With Sesame Veg & Brown Rice

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Peel and grate (or finely chop) your garlic

Peel (scrape the skin off with a teaspoon) and grate (or finely chop) your ginger

Trim, then finely slice your spring onions

Add your beef mince to a large mixing bowl with your panko breadcrumbs and 1/3 of your sliced spring onion (you'll use the rest later!)

Add the grated garlic and half of the grated ginger (save the rest for later!) and mix it all up

Divide the mixture equally and shape into meatballs (3 per person!) and add the beef meatballs to a baking tray and put the tray in the oven for 15 min or until cooked through (no pink meat!)

While the rice is cooking, slice 1/4 of your red chilli[es] thinly into chilli rounds (save these for garnish)

Cut the remaining chilli in half lengthways, deseed (scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon) and chop finely

Top, tail and peel your carrot[s], then continue to peel lengths until you end up with a pile of carrot ribbons

Combine your hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, chopped chilli (can't handle the heat? Go easy!), a small splash of water and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] sugar in a small bowl

Add the remaining grated ginger and stir to combine – this is your spiced hoisin sauce

Wash your spinach, then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat

Once hot, add the spinach and cook for 1 min or until beginning to wilt

Once wilted, remove the pan from the heat and add your toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, carrot ribbons and remaining sliced spring onion to the pan – this is your sesame veg

Transfer the sesame veg to a plate and cover to keep warm

Return the pan to a medium heat

Remove the cooked beef meatballs from the oven and add them to the pan with the spiced hoisin sauce

Cook for 2-3 min, coating the meatballs in the sauce until thickened and becoming sticky – these are your spiced hoisin beef meatballs