Pork Meatballs With Ginger and Fish Sauce

Name: Pork Meatballs With Ginger and Fish Sauce
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger; 1 tablespoon minced garlic (from about 3 large cloves); 1 tablespoon fish sauce; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 cup finely crushed Ritz crackers (12 crackers); 1 pound ground pork

By Kay Chun

Updated July 27, 2020

Pork Meatballs With Ginger and Fish Sauce — Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(5,061)
Comments: Read comments

These nuoc cham-inspired meatballs are perfect to fill lettuce cups topped with fresh basil or cilantro. (Add steamed rice for a more substantial meal.) The Ritz crackers here make for a juicier meatball, but feel free to substitute plain dry bread crumbs. To make the Ritz crumbs, place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag and lightly crush them with the back of a wooden spoon or measuring cup. For an easy dipping sauce, spike ¼ cup mayonnaise with 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil or soy sauce. And save any leftover meatballs: They're great simmered in chicken broth the next day. The ginger and garlic in them release their aromatics into the broth for a deeply flavorful soup base.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
1tablespoon minced garlic (from about 3 large cloves)
1tablespoon fish sauce
1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½teaspoon kosher salt
½cup finely crushed Ritz crackers (12 crackers)
1pound ground pork

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and use your hands to gently mix.
Step 2
Shape the meat into 12 golf-ball-size rounds (about 2 inches in diameter) and arrange on a greased rimmed baking sheet.
Step 3
Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Tip

Leftover meatballs freeze well and can be reheated in the oven at 375 degrees until warmed through (about 20 minutes).

Ratings

5 out of 5

5,061 user ratings

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Comments

Cameron6 years ago

Absolutely delicious, but the meatballs need to be cooked a bit longer than the recipe prescribes. At 15 minutes, they were still raw in the center. I let them back for closer to 25, which resulted in perfectly cooked, juicy meatballs with a nice caramelized outer layer. Served over brown rice dressed with nuac cham and chopped cilantro.

CFXK6 years ago

It seems that whenever there is a recipe calling for ground meat, the question is asked: can substitute ground turkey?. Of course you can. It's your meal. But keep a few things in mind: Fat content: this affects flavor and texture. Use ground turkey with higher fat content (not the super lean), and/or supplement with another fat. Doneness: ground turkey is unforgiving if cooked too long; loses taste and crumbles. Keep an eye on it. Flavor: turkey is bland. Amp up the herbs and spices

Did a kind of Nuoc Cham sauce with it instead of the mayo sauce. To taste: rice vinegar, sugar, splash of rooster sauce, splash of lime juice, thin sliced red chilis and grated ginger. Great with the lettuce cups!6 years ago

Jane1 month ago

I’ve made this many times as written. Today my local store did not have ground pork so I subbed ground turkey. I prefer pork but the turkey worked fine. I served with jasmine rice and sautéed spinach with coconut milk. Very flavorful.

pj1 month ago

Saute ginger and garlic with some red pepper flakes before mixing add diced cilantro add diced green onion add a splash of rice vinegar

Mike Severin1 month ago

I smoke them first.

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