LUNAR NEW YEAR BISON BALLS aka SPHERE OF TAURUS 5050 (Holy Stitch! Serpent Moon New Year Remix)

[RECIPE / PROPORTIONS FORTHCOMING]

Wouldn't it have been epic if we got our hands on some snake meat? >> "Snake Eyes", Year of the Snake Balls, "Serpent Spheres," "Serpent Moon Balls" all kinds of cool names.

But no, not on this one...

Instead, we have something a bit more terror-strial: a beloved staple beast of burden, sometimes grazen, sometimes grilled, but always worshipped with zeal and satisfaction...

Behold,

SPHERE OF TAURUS™ 5050 OX* BALLS

LUNAR NEW YEAR EDITION

The perfect food after a day of fireworks, lion dancing, familial diplomacy, and endless kowtowing...

50% Bison, 50% Beef 90/10,
bell pepper *2 (R, G, Y, or combo thereof)
shitake, shallots, lemongrass
hoisin, dark soy, rice wine, sesame oil
cilantro, herbs de provence, curry powder, chipotle, clove, paprika

*using 'ox' loosely...

Shallots

and that's all for the ingredient photo... abrupt, I know. sahree chahree

...

[*2] Bell Peppers

RED for Luck (or Blood... aka [cough] Fertility...)
GREEN for Youth, Growth & Longevity (or if you want - GREENBACK$$$)
YELLOW for... uhh... More Prosperity aka GOLD (thus Green = fiat Prosperity?)

...

Rolling Balls

Euphoria-in-situ

...

6 Variations on a Taurus aka HEX OX BLOX

Row 1 (L-R): Bison straight; 5050 + cloves; SPHERE OF TAURUS™ 5050

Row 2: Bison + shallots, curry, chipotle; 5050 + chipotle; SPHERE OF TAURUS™ 5050 + ginger

...

Bison, Bison, Taurus (+worchestershire)!

Notes:

90/10 is too lean! I didn't realize I didn't have 80/20 until I already started.
Don't worry about the marinade being too strong (hoisin always is). The moisture from the shallots, pepper, and mushroom will balance out; and if you use 80/20, it's even better (though you may want to watch the fat/sesame oil ratio).
Fresh ginger does not work, in my opinion. But if you infuse the ginger flavor another way, such as in the sesame oil before mixing...

PLATING

Now that you have your balls, you have the option of serving on a pool of sauce. But to keep it Asian and fancy, you can drop them into a hearty (noodle) soup, such as:

"Serpent Cloud Sea Forest" Glorious Double Fun Guy Noodle Soup