Baked Vietnamese Pork and Mint Meatballs with Dipping Sauce

Baked Vietnamese MeatballsWhen my husband and I lived in San Diego, we ate Vietnamese food pretty much every week. There was a popular Pho restaurant we would frequent for their delicious (and cheap!) Pho noodle soups, vermicelli noodles and Summer rolls. When I ordered vermicelli noodles I always had it with grilled pork or pork meatballs. The meatballs were so flavorful and juicy, made with fish sauce, sugar and mint, a popular Vietnamese combination. Here is my version of Vietnamese meatballs paired with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce.

If you don’t have fish sauce, you can use soy sauce instead. When the meatballs are done cooking, I like to add an extra squeeze of lime juice on top. Serve these meatballs with dipping sauce, steamed rice and fresh vegetables.

Stir together mint, fish and soy sauce mixture, shallot and garlic, then mix in ground pork.

Roll into balls and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with a squeeze of lime and Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Baked Vietnamese Pork and Mint Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 large shallot, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons agave nectar or sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce

    Vietnamese Meatballs Dipping Sauce

  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1/2 of a lime, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons water

    Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly grease a sheet pan with oil and set aside.

    In a bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly with your hands. Roll into about 30-40 meatballs and place on pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and not pink in the middle. While cooking, prepare the dipping sauce. In a mortar and pestle, crush garlic and red pepper into a paste. Place paste in a small serving bowl and stir together with agave nectar, fish sauce, lime juice and water. Serve meatballs with the Vietnamese dipping sauce, steamed rice and vegetables.

    Total Time: 30-40 minutes
    Yield: makes 30-40 meatballs
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    Comments

    1. Heidi says

      Yum! I have a ton of ground turkey (hello, husband going crazy at Costco) so I’m going to try it with that for tomorrow night’s dinner.

    2. says

      Betty Ann – We had them last night for dinner and it didn’t take long to finish!

      Heidi – Let me know how it turns out with the ground turkey. I’d like to try that sometime.

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