Meatball stir-fry (with a picture!)

I promise, from now on we'll have pictures with the posts I write!  (More than this one, which is brought to you courtesy of Peter's sculpting skills and my remembering at the last minute that we need to take at least ONE picture of the food I make, not grasping that it would probably be useful to also show the finished product.  Whoops.)

After one month of not eating out AT ALL, Peter and I celebrated my getting a fantastic internship at a big non-profit in Chicago by going out for sushi last night.  As delightful and special as it was, we decided upon getting home that we really like just cooking at home on a regular basis and that blogging about what I cook is a big motivation for me to keep pushing myself in that area.  Yay for making adult decisions!
On that note, this week's recipe is something that I made up last Saturday, but is a variation on a stir-fry we usually make around once a week.

Meatball stir-fry with vinegary rice

For the rice:
2 cups water
1 cup white rice
1/4 cup either apple cider (my favorite) or rice (Peter's favorite) vinegar

For the meatballs:
1 lb. 96/4 lean hamburger meat (or 90/10, whatever you prefer)
1.5 tsp toasted or regular sesame seeds
1-2 tsp five spice powder
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried onion (or finely chopped fresh onion)
1 Tbsp chili paste such as sri racha,
1 egg

For the vegetable portion of the stir-fry
2/3 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 medium sized yellow onion, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 red bell pepper, halved widthwise and cut into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 can sliced bamboo shoots
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder

Combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl, and mix with your hands (sorry, but it's the most efficient way to do this).  Roll into 1-inch meatballs, and place in a 10-12 inch pan over medium heat.  Feel free to check them every couple of minutes and turn them as necessary to get them browned all over.  They're small, so they tend to cook rather quickly!
While those get going, start the rice.  Place the water in a medium-sized saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Pour in the rice and vinegar, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the rice is done.
When the meatballs are browned all over and seem reasonably cooked through, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate. Don't get rid of the juices in the pan though!  Add the mushrooms, onion and bell pepper to the pan, and increase heat to medium-high.   Sprinkle the veggies with a little garlic powder and the soy sauce.  When the onion is transluscent and the mushrooms have released their juice, add the broccoli, bamboo and water chestnuts.  Cover and simmer for about 2-3 minutes, and then uncover and add the meatballs back into the stir-fry, stirring gently to not break up the meatballs.  Add more soy sauce and garlic to taste, and serve the stir-fry over the rice.  Serves 4.

We both hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July, and I'll see you next week!  Stay cool!