Try These Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs for Your Next Party!
Try these super tasty and easy Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs for your next party. You can also serve as tasty banh mi sandwiches. These quick and easy chicken meatballs are loaded with flavor for a fast meal that’s still very impressive. Serve these meatballs up as lettuce wraps with a pantry raid of whatever pickles you have on hand to make it a fresh and light meal perfect for any warm summer night.
If you’re hosting a party, you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen preparing dishes from scratch. But if you want your guests to enjoy something more than chips and dip, it’s a good idea to plan ahead so that all you have to do on party day is bring the meatballs out of the oven and pop them onto platters with toothpicks so your guests can serve themselves.
Serve this recipe with some home made Spicy Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice, Longevity Noodles or Biang Biang Noodles.
Not what you are looking for? Try these other excellent meatball recipes:
- Brown Rice Porcupine Meatballs
- Swedish Meatballs
- Chicken Meatballs
- Italian Meatballs
- Cuban Mojo Meatballs
- Comfort Meatballs
- Tsukune Chicken Meatballs
- Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs
Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs
Try these super tasty and easy Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs for your next party.
- Prep Time: :25
- Cook Time: :20
- Total Time: :45
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 3 small shallots, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass, tender white inner bulb only, minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce, leaves separated
- 1 small seedless cucumber—peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 small red onion, halved and sliced
- Asian chili sauce, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Position a rack in the top third of the oven. In a food processor, pulse the chicken until coarsely ground; transfer to a bowl. Add the fish sauce, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, chopped cilantro and mint, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix with your hands.
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the sugar on a plate. Using slightly moistened hands, roll the chicken mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the meatballs in the sugar until they are evenly coated. Transfer the meatballs to the prepared baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned and cooked through.
- Meanwhile, arrange the lettuce, cilantro and mint leaves, cucumber and onion on a platter. Transfer the meatballs to the platter and serve with chili sauce.
Notes
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Meatball Tips
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Make Ahead – The meatballs can be made up to two days ahead and gently reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
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Keep Things Cold – You want to keep the fat from melting and breaking down before you cook the meatballs, so keep your meat and ingredients as cold as possible. Make the mixture in a chilled bowl, and if you are adding precooked ingredients like onions, let them cool down completely before adding.
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Be Gentle – If the meatballs are packed too tightly and compactly, they’ll turn out tough, rubbery, and chewy. Oil your hands so that the mixture won’t stick to them and gently and quickly form the meatballs.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4