Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs

 

Your going to love these meat balls.

 

 

 

1 lb ground chicken

3 tbls fish sauce

1/2 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, tender white inside part only, minced

3-4 tbls chopped cilantro

1 tbls chopped mint

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp kosher salt

few grinds of fresh black pepper

granulated sugar for rolling the meatballs, about 1/4 cup

 

In a large mixing dish, combine the chicken with the remaining ingredients (excluding the sugar). Mix well but lightly because overworking the meat will result in tough meatballs.

Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs with somewhat damp hands, place on a plate, and chill for 30 minutes or so - the mixture was a little wet at first, but it set up wonderfully after a rest in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Remove the meatballs from the refrigerator and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place each meatball on a piece of paper and gently coat with sugar.

Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes in the center of the oven, shaking the pan a few times to ensure equal browning.

 

 

You can do whatever you want with these tiny meatballs. They'd be wonderful as lettuce wraps (like in the original recipe), in a Thai-inspired sub, over rice, dipped in sweet chili sauce, or even in soup.