Grilled Lemongrass Pork Meatballs with Herbs and Peanut-Hoisin Dip

Combine the pork, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, white pepper, and cornstarch in a bowl. Knead the mixture for a full 3 minutes — this develops the springy, bouncy texture that defines the dish.

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 500g ground pork (20% fat)
• 3 stalks lemongrass, tender cores only, very finely minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 cup fresh mint and cilantro leaves
• 1 cup pickled carrot and daikon (do chua)
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce mixed with 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp warm water, and 1 tsp lime juice

Instructions

1. Combine the pork, lemongrass, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, white pepper, and cornstarch in a bowl. Knead the mixture for a full 3 minutes — this develops the springy, bouncy texture that defines the dish.
2. Chill the mixture 30 minutes, then roll into 18 walnut-sized balls with lightly oiled hands and thread three per skewer, flattening each slightly.
3. Heat a grill to medium-high and oil the grates well.
4. Grill the skewers 8-10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes, until deeply caramelized on all sides and cooked through — the sugar in the marinade should char to a lacquered mahogany.
5. Whisk the hoisin-peanut sauce until smooth, loosening with extra warm water if needed.
6. Arrange lettuce cups on a platter with the herbs and pickles, then slide the meatballs off their skewers.
7. To eat: cradle a meatball in a lettuce leaf, tuck in mint, cilantro and pickles, roll loosely, and dunk generously in the sauce.
8. These grilled lemongrass pork meatballs hail from Nha Trang on Vietnam's south-central coast, where the dish is such a point of local pride that some restaurants serve nothing else. It is a masterclass in Vietnamese flavor architecture: rich grilled pork, cooling herbs, sharp pickles and a sweet-savory sauce, every bite balanced and wrapped in crisp lettuce. Kneading the meat until springy is the technique that separates the real thing from ordinary meatballs.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 310 kcal
• Protein: 20g
• Fat: 20g
• Carbohydrates: 14g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 8g
• Sodium: 720mg