Vietnamese Meatballs

Serves 4

Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

500g pork mince

2 spring onions, finely sliced

½ bunch of coriander, finely chopped

½ bunch of Vietnamese mint, finely chopped

½ bunch of Thai basil, finely chopped

½ bunch of coriander, finely chopped

2 long red chilli, finely diced

1 lemongrass heart, peeled, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 tbsp white pepper

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp coconut sugar

Salt

For the Salad

300g dried vermicelli noodles

1 baby Cos lettuce, washed and drained

1 cucumber, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and cut into julienne

Handful of Thai basil, leave picked

Handful of Vietnamese mint, leave picked

Handful of mint, leave picked

Handful of spring onion, chopped

Handful of coriander, chopped

Juice of ½ lime

½ cup toast peanuts, chopped

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted 

1 tbsp fried shallots

For the Nuoc Cham Dressing

1 long red chilli, seeds removed 

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp of coconut sugar

⅔ cup of warm water

Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cook the noodles as per package instructions. Drain the water and add a splash of oil to the noodles.  Mix well to prevent the noodle from sticking. Set aside.

For the meatballs, place all meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Place 1-2 tablespoons of mixture and roll into a ball, then slightly flatten it. Place the meatballs in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until both sides are golden brown and the meatballs are cooked through. Set aside.

For the Nuoc Cham sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl and sit aside.

To serve, place the noodle at the bottom in a serving bowl. Arrange the meatballs, lettuce leaves, cucumber, carrots, herbs, peanuts, sesame seeds and fried shallots on top. 

Drizzle with lime juice and Nuoc Cham sauce on top and serve.