How to Make Bakso Goreng (Fried Chicken Meatballs)

Welcome to another great fried chicken recipe! Bakso goreng are Indonesian-style fried meatballs and great comforting food! Very commonly sold as street food in Indonesia on the side of a main dish or simply as a snack.

To make bakso goreng, simply mix ground chicken meat with various spices and form this into a ball. Deep fry the meatballs and serve with a sweet and or chili sauce!

What is bakso goreng?

Bakso goreng originates from Indonesia and directly translates to “fried meatballs”, where bakso means “meatballs” and goreng means “fried”. Beef or chicken meat is often used, today we are considering a chicken variant to compete with the great ayam geprek!

It’s not to be confused with “bakso“, commonly used in soups where the meatball is not fried but boiled. Let’s continue on how to make bakso goreng!

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Step 1: Collect the ingredients

What to consider when choosing the ingredients

To start with the main ingredient; the chicken! I’ve used fresh chicken thighs to ground myself and implement my own flavors. It took quite some effort from my food processor so only follow this path if you have a good quality processor! Click here to order the one I use.

Alternatively you can go for beef of course and I imagine you might want to use different spices for the beef meat! You can also mix it up and use both the meats, feel free to experiment.

I use fresh garlic and kaffir leaves to implement flavors, really nice if you ask me but feel free to exchange for any other fresh spices you like! I use kaffir leaves a lot and I really like the fresh taste it brings to the bakso goreng!

The dried spices are to boost flavor and add some sweetness, very traditional spices in Indonesian cuisine and commonly used by me. I wouldn’t exchange them but you could use black pepper or brown sugar instead. Some kecap manis for additional sweetness and coloring, unmissable in my opinion.

To form the meatball and give it a solid structure, I’ve added an egg, flour and starch to the mix. This will ensure a more firm mixture that is easy to make into a meatball.

Since we are deep-frying it will not be too difficult to close the meatballs with a crispy jacket! I can imagine this will be more important when boiling the bakso.

Let’s continue with the next steps!

Step 2: Grind the meat

Like I said this will take a proper food processor or meat grinder so only do this if you have the equipment. If not, buy ground chicken and continue from there. The downside is that you have no idea which meat is inside the ground chicken so you have less control on the outcome.

If you do want to grind the meat, help your food processor and chop the chicken thighs into smaller pieces. Peel the garlic and cut away the middle stem from the kaffir leaves. Add a small amount of chicken, garlic and kaffir leaves to your foodprocessor and grind the ingredients step by step.

Again, don’t mix all in once! When all the chicken is mixed, add the spices and structure enhancements and mix well (with a spoon or whatever).

Set aside in the refrigerator if you don’t want to deep-fry immediately. You can save this mixture for tomorrow as well. The only thing left to do is to form the bakso and deep-fry!

Step 3: Bakso goreng

If you are ready to fry, heat up your deep fryer or set a frying pan on high heat and add enough oil to cover the meatballs. Let the oil heat up (this will take some time), and drop in the meatballs one by one. Give them room to not touch each other.

I simply formed the meatballs right before I dropped them in, you could alternatively form the balls before heating the oil.

Like I said the balls might not feel very firm but the deep-frying will take care of that. I like the fact that the meatballs are not perfect spheres so you can tell it’s hand made and not fabricated!

Once golden brown remove them from the oil, a fork will do just fine. This will take some 10 minutes. Leave the bakso goreng on some kitchen paper to soak up excess oil and continue frying the rest of the meatballs!

That’s it for the bakso goreng! Serve with some chili sauce to enhance flavor when you serve it as a snack. I personally served as a side dish to accompany nasi kandar! This turned out great and the dish was very successful!

Definitely check out my other fried recipes to serve on the side or as a snack!

• Tahu gejrot
• Telur balado
• Tempe goreng
• Sambal tempe
• Terong balado

I served bakso goreng with nasi kandar, check it out! I hope you enjoyed this recipe, let me know what you think and please leave a rating!

Yum

FAQ

What is Nasi Goreng Bakso?

Nasi Goreng Bakso is an Indonesian dish consisting of fried rice, bakso (Indonesian chicken meatballs), eggs, vegetables and spices. It is usually served with extra soy sauce, sambal and lime.

What is Bakso Soup?

Bakso soup is a traditional Indonesian soup made with meatballs, noodles, vegetables and broth. The soup has a flavorful and savory taste due to the variety of ingredients used in its preparation. It’s an ideal meal for a cold day or as an appetizer before the main course.