Baked Asian (Hmong) Pork Meatballs

I love meatballs! I love them in pho, spaghetti and in sandwiches. What's not to like?! Every culture has their variation and that's the wonderful thing about food. This version is filled with lots of southeast asian flavors: ginger, cilantro, and fish sauce. So GOOD! When I took the first bite it brought me back to the taste of dumplings or eggroll filling. There are only a few steps, an easy recipe that is very versatile. You can eat alone, with rice, as lettuce cups, or lastly, in a sandwich - banh mi style.

Ingredients: 
1lb ground pork
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1 clove of minced garlic
2 stalks of minced green onions
1/4 cup of minced cilantro
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Bowl of meaty-balls! :) 

I used the food processor for all the aromatics - you want everything to be broken down well. 

First step is to mix everything in a big mixing bowl. You do not even need eggs to hold everything together! The panko bread crumbs do a great job. I like to work the meat a bit so the meat mixture has a paste like texture. You do not want meat balls that break apart in the oven.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees! 

Should have this kind of consistency. 

 You can skip this step but I like to do a small taste test on the stove top first. Then adjust to taste. I added more ginger because I love ginger! It would be painful to make all the balls and then come out bland or too salty. 

Then roll meat mixture into small balls, I made golf size but you can make small if you would like. Hey that's the best thing about cooking, it can be made to your liking! Just make sure to make them all the same size so the meatballs cook evenly. But I'm sure you know that already. :)  

35 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees. So EASY. You can pan fry if you would like but I do not even miss the fried taste.

This is how I ate mine... lettuce and topped with some more ginger and cilantro. I also made a nuoc mam suace. I really enjoyed eating these all week! I know you'll enjoy them as well! 

Thanks for reading! 

XX

Kathy