Friday, May 22, 2009

Vietnamese Meatballs

It's Memorial weekend... time to fire up the grill! Honestly, we grill quite a bit around here. I used to be the grill master, but Daniel has certainly taken over when he's home to grill. However, I often still grill when he is gone because it's so yummy and easy! So, he was gone last night and I decided to try a new recipe I found on Family Fun; Vietnamese skewer meatballs! They were pretty simple, and I thought they turned out awesome! The girls needed a little more coaxing. First of all, I let them dip into ketchup rather than my Nuoc Cham sauce. In addition, they were offered ice cream upon completetion. Needless-to-say, they ate them up along with some corn on the cob and rice! If you're looking for a new grill recipe, I highly recommend this one! Here it is:

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Meatballs

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup shallots, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
1 pound ground pork
Canola oil for brushing
8 (9-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

1. Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the shallots, garlic, and mint. Add the pork and combine very gently by hand.

2. Form the mixture into 48 meatballs, each about an inch in diameter. Thread 6 meatballs onto each skewer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm them slightly.

3. Prepare an electric grill or heat a grill pan to medium-high (the meatballs could fall through the grates of an outdoor grill). Lightly brush the meatballs with oil and grill them 6 to 8 minutes, turning often, until they're browned on all sides and just cooked through. Serve with Nuoc Cham sauce. Serves 4.

Nuoc Cham Sauce

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup hot tap water
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1. Mash the garlic, sugar, and red pepper flakes into a grainy paste on a small plate with the back of a fork. Scrape the paste into a small, heat-proof serving bowl. Pour the hot water over the mixture to dissolve the sugar. Let it cool slightly, then stir in the lime juice and fish sauce. Makes 2/3 cup.


ENJOY!

1 comment:

  1. Looks good. We love to grill over here too. Don't things just taste better when they are cooked outdoors?

    ReplyDelete