Here’s a take on basic Vietnamese-style chicken meatballs. One could easily substitute lean ground pork to good effect. These go with a number of side dishes, but really go well with lettuce wraps and some condiments.
This recipe is loosely based on one from Serious Eats.
What you’ll need
- 2T neutral oil
- 3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 Thai chiles (seed them for less heat), stemmed and finely minced
- 2 green onions, finely minced
- 1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 pound ground chicken breast or lean ground pork
- 1T fish sauce
- 30g (1oz) cilantro or mint, leaves finely chopped (use half and half, if wanted)
- Neutral oil for cooking
- 60g (0.25 cups) turbinado or light brown sugar
If making lettuce wraps
- Broad lettuce leaves that aren’t too stiff for wrapping
- Chili crisp
- Crispy shallots
- Assorted Asian pickles
What to do
Heat the oil in a small frypan over medium heat. Add the chilis, green onions garlic and ginger then sauté until they bloom—about 6 minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic get browned, which will make it bitter. Set aside without removing from the pan.
To a large mixing bowl add the ground chicken, fish sauce, mint/cilantro, and the cooked aromatics along with half the oil in which you cooked them. Mix with your hands (nitrile gloves are perfect for this) until thoroughly combined and the mixture is sticky enough to hold a meatball shape.
Add to a preferably cast-iron frypan about 0.5 inches of cooking oil. Heat over medium temperature it until it begins shimmering—about 250 degrees measured with an infrared thermometer. When the oil reaches temperature, using a soup spoon (tablespoon) scoop some of the meat mixture and very carefully roll it into a ball or oblong. Carefully add it to the hot oil. Repeat for each meatball, without crowding the pan. You may need to make 2 or 3 batches. Cook the meatballs for about 7 – 10 minutes, very carefully turning each one with tongs a couple of times while they’re cooking. Remove them to a paper-towel-lined plate when they’re fully cooked (165 degrees F inside). Leave the pan on the heat.
When all the meatballs are cooked and on the plate, very carefully add them to a wide bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them. VERY carefully toss them so each is coated with sugar. Turn the heat under the cooking pan to high and add the sugar-coated meatballs. Cook on each side for about a minute or until the sugar caramelizes. Quickly remove them from the pan to a plate lined with fresh paper towels, then to a serving plate.
Serve hot with the lettuce and condiments, or just on their own.
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