MAKES ROUGHLY 40 MEATBALLS

These meatballs are great for any application, but I’d say the best (and most obvious one) is stuffing them into a nice roll with pickled carrot and radish, herbs, and hot sauce to make an absolutely delicious banh mi!

ACTIVE + TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

• 2 Lb. Ground Pork
• 2 Shallots, Minced Fine
• 1 Large Bunch Scallion, Minced Fine
• 2 Stalks Lemongrass, Trimmed and Minced Fine
• 8 Cloves Garlic, Minced Fine
• ¼ Cup Toasted Rice, Such As Jasmine, Ground Into Powder (Makes About 2 Tbsp.)
• 2 Tsp. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (Half If Using Morton)
• 1 ½ Tsp. Oyster Sauce
• 1 Tsp. Fish Sauce
• 2 Tsp. Sesame Oil, Divided
• 1 Tsp. Hot Sauce, Such As Chin Su
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• Several Cracks Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Neutral Oil, Such As Canola

PREP

• Mince the shallots, scallion, lemongrass and garlic as fine as possible; set aside together in a bowl.
• In a small skillet or fry pan over medium-high heat, add in ¼ cup of jasmine rice and stir constantly until sufficiently toasted on all sides, about 5 minutes. You’re aiming for the color of toasted marshmallows. Set aside to cool slightly and then process in a spice mill or mortar and pestle until ground into a fine powder; add to the same bowl as the minced vegetables.
• Add ground pork to the same bowl as the rest of the ingredients you prepped earlier; add in salt, black pepper, fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, 1 tsp. sesame oil, hot sauce, and brown sugar, mixing well to combine. Allow mixture to stand for 30 minutes to ensure flavors are well incorporated.

COOK

• In the same fry pan from earlier over medium-high heat, add in the neutral oil and remaining teaspoon of sesame oil (SEE TIP). Add in the meatballs in a layer to the pan, searing on both sides until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side, 8 total. Remove from oil and allow excess to drain. Serve hot.

TIP: The idea here being that the neutral oil will make up the ‘base’ of our cooking liquid, as its high smoke point can handle higher temperatures. Sesame oil, while delicious, has a very low smoke point and isn’t ideal for searing; just a small amount will add a good bit of flavor.