Thai Meatballs

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

500 g / 1 lb pork mince (ground pork, or chicken)

1 tbsp lemongrass paste (or finely chopped fresh) (Note 1)

1 tsp grated ginger

3 cloves garlic (, minced)

3 kaffir lime leaves, stem removed and very finely shredded, optional extra (Note 2)

3 Thai or birds eye chillies (, seeds removed and finely chopped, Note 3)

1/4 cup coriander/cilantro (, leaves and stem finely chopped, Note 4)

1 tsp sugar (any)

1 tbsp fish sauce (can sub with soy sauce if required)

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (+ extra 1/4 cup if needed)

1 small egg

Oil spray

1/2 cup / 125 ml sweet chilli sauce (, store bought, Note 5)

1 garlic clove (, minced)

2 tbsp lime juice (, plus more to taste)

Coriander/cilantro leaves (, finely sliced large red chillies)

Steamed jasmine rice

Directions

Preheat oven to 220C/430F (standard) or 200C/390F (fan / convection).

Place a rack on a tray (optional, rack keeps balls slightly rounder).

Place Meatball ingredients in a bowl (except oil spray), mix well with your hands. Only use extra breadcrumbs if necessary - sometimes, chicken mince can be quite wet. Scoop up 1 slightly heaped tablespoon and roll into a ball (about 3cm / 1.25" diameter). (Note 6 for my way)

Spray rack well with oil and place the meatballs on the rack.

Spray meatballs generously with oil, then bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a bit browned. They should be beautifully soft - see video!

Serve warm with Sauce, garnished with coriander and chillies if desired.

Sauce:

Place ingredients in a bowl and mix. Set aside for at least 10 minutes before using.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 190 g
• Calories: 486 kcal