I love the flavours of Thailand – ginger, chili, garlic, lemongrass, lime – and the perfect balance of sweet-salty-sour-hot that winds its way through the nation’s cuisine, singing perfect high notes on your tastebuds.
These meatballs are packed with all those bright flavours. They’re perfect for a party, with this sticky sweet chili sauce as their escort. You could spear them with toothpicks, or do like I did and serve them with torn lettuce leaves and cucumber slices. It’s messy, but fun.
To make them, whir all the ingredients – other than the pork – in a food processor to achieve a fine mince. Then use your hands to work the mixture into the meat, and make little balls between dampened palms. I like to employ my little cookie scoop to make even portions, before rolling them into shape.
They’re baked in the oven – and as such, couldn’t be simpler. No standing over a oil-sputtering frying pan. You can make them in advance and freeze (uncooked), reducing oven temperature by 25 degrees and increasing cooking time by about 10 minutes when you’re ready to serve them.
If not as an appetizer, you could serve them for dinner with coconut rice. Yum.
If you adore Thai food as much as I do, you must also try my Red Curry, Thai Curry Fish, Peanut Sweet Potato Soup, Sweet Chilli Noodles Salad, Thai Scallops, Pad Woon Sen and Thai Basil Pork.
Thai Pork Meatballs & Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
- 2 lemongrass stalks tender inner part, bottom 4 inches only
- 3 shallots peeled
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 3 green onions
- 1 inch piece ginger peeled
- 1 small jalapeno
- 1 carrot peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 1 ½ lbs ground pork
For Sauce:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp grated carrot
- 2 tbsp grated cucumber
- 3 tbsp chili paste such as sambal olek
For serving:
- 1 head of iceberg or butter lettuce leaves separated (and large ones torn)
- ¼ large cucumber thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients except pork in a food processor and pulse until minced. Transfer to a large bowl and add pork; use your hands to thoroughly combine.
- Form meatballs, using 1 rounded tablespoon of pork mixture each, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets 1 inch apart. Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make sauce by combining all ingredients in a medium bowl. Transfer to serving dish.
- Serve meatballs in lettuce cups with a slice of cucumber and a drizzle of sauce – I recommend putting out the components and letting guests assemble their own!
