Vietnamese Grilled Pork Balls

The authors describe these as "easy-to-eat” and I would add that they’re easy to make as well though the method and ingredients are different from what I would normally use for meat balls.

Lean pork pieces are marinated with garlic, shallots and fish sauce then processed to a paste with added Roasted Rice Powder (a condiment of toasted, ground rice, page 308). Either of these steps can be done hours in advance. The paste is shaped into small balls and grilled or broiled on skewers.

Though the meat balls are quite dense, they are moist and very flavourful on their own and even tastier served with a Vietnamese Herb and Salad Plate (an assortment of lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, sliced raw vegetables, page 68) and a hot, sour, salty, sweet dipping sauce (Vietnamese Must-Have Table Sauce, page 28).

Though often served as an appetizer, we had it with steamed brown basmati rice as our main.