Recipes

Meatball Snacks

Look Chin Moo

Steamed herbed pork meatballs served with two contrasting dipping sauces

Prep

20 min

Cook

5 min

Serves

4

Heat

medium

Meatball vendors are everywhere in Thailand, so common a sight that homemade versions are something of a rarity even among people who eat them all the time. This recipe folds lemongrass, garlic, and fresh herbs straight into the pork before it's rolled into small, quick-cooking balls and steamed just until firm. Two very different dipping sauces come alongside: one sharp and herbaceous with mint, cilantro, lime, and chili, the other sweet and nutty with sesame, giving each bite two very different directions to go in.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Chopped pork
• 1/4 cup Coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon Fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon Spearmint (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Coriander/cilantro leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Green onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Lemongrass (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Tapioca starch
• 1/4 teaspoon White pepper, finely ground
• 1 tablespoon Spearmint (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Coriander/cilantro leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon Green onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons Light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Ground dried Thai chili
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Sweet and spicy dipping sauce
• 2 tablespoons Fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon White sesame seeds

Directions

1. Heat the fish sauce and coconut sugar together in a small pan over low heat, stirring until melted into a sticky sauce. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. Finely chop the mint, cilantro, green onion, lemongrass, and garlic for the meatballs.
3. Once the fish sauce syrup has cooled, mix it into the ground pork along with the chopped herbs, tapioca starch, and white pepper. Combine well and let rest for about 15 minutes.
4. For the spicy mint sauce, finely chop the mint, cilantro, and green onion, then stir together with the soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, ground chili, and sugar until well blended.
5. For the sweet sesame sauce, whisk the sweet and spicy dipping sauce with the lime juice, then stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
6. Roll about a teaspoon of the pork mixture at a time into small, evenly sized meatballs. Arrange them with space between each on a steamer tray.
7. Steam over boiling water, covered, on high heat for about 5 minutes. Check one to confirm it's cooked through, then remove promptly — don't overcook.
8. Let cool slightly, then serve on a plate with both dipping sauces and a garnish of mint or cilantro. Eat with skewers or toothpicks.

Notes

Keep the meatballs small and uniform in size — they cook through fast and evenly that way, and it's easy to overcook them if they're too large or uneven.

Substitutions

Ground chicken or beef can replace the pork with no other changes to the method.