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Sunny with a Plate of Meatballs

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

  • 1 pound ground pork or 1/2 pound ground pork:1/2 pound ground chicken
  • 1/3 cup finely-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup finely-chopped scallions white and green parts
  • 1 serrano chile seeded and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon finely-chopped peeled fresh ginger or ginger juice
  • 3 garlic cloves grated on a Microplane or minced
  • Finely-grated zest of 1 lime
  • 2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the dipping sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha or other hot sauce
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

For serving:

  • 1 head Boston or bibb lettuce
  • 1/4 English cucumber thinly-sliced
  • 2-3 scallions white and light green parts, julienned
  • A large handful of cilantro sprigs
  • Bean thread noodles or rice noodles soaked until soft. Drain and set aside
  • Jasmine rice cooked

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, gently combine the pork, cilantro, scallions, chile, ginger, garlic, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and salt.
  • Roll mixture into 1-inch balls
  • Heat the broiler. Set the rack at least 4 inches from the heat source.
  • Arrange the meatballs in a single layer, not touching, on one or two rimmed sheet pans.
  • Broil the meatballs, turning the pan halfway through, until they are golden all over and just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Prepare the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil, and brown sugar.
  • For lettuce wraps: Place a bit of rice or noodles in lettuce leaf. Top with 2 meatballs, cilantro, green onion shreds. fold and dip into sauce. Enjoy!
  • Or serve as a rice or noodle bowl.

NOTES

  • For consistency of size and even cooking, use a spring-loaded scoop to portion out the meatballs; I used the middle-sized scoop in this set (#50), which is 1 1/2 tablespoons. To make gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.