I love the flavors of Southeast Asia and most particularly Vietnam. I have dreams about swimming in a vat of pho while eating a bahn mi sandwich; thinking about a bowl of bun cha and gigantic bottles of Sri Racha. When living in the Hamptons there wasn’t a Vietnamese restaurant for miles, so I began to make my own pho. Then we moved back to Seattle, Phil and I were spoiled some of the best Vietnamese food you can find in the United States just south of us in Federal Way. Sadly after having been spoiled by the restaurants there, I am slightly gutted to report that Petaluma has one Vietnamese restaurant and it is a disappointment. So, once again I am going to take matters into my own hands.
Last time I had to do this, I set about recreating pho. This time I am simply taking flavors and making something that is influenced by the gorgeous cuisine of Vietnam. I keep turning over a couple of images in my mind, one of bun, the ground meat sitting over a little grill in all its salty, smoky perfection and the other of the seasoned veggies of the bahn mi. So, I decided to take the best of each dish and create these delicious little bundles. The veggies give the dish a lovely crunch, while the glaze on these spicy meatballs adds a sticky element that is completely addictive as Phil can attest, he devastated the meatball population pretty quickly.
Enjoy!
Vietnamese Inspired Meatball Bundles
1 recipe Grilled Pork Meatballs (recipe below)
1 head Butter Lettuce, taken apart, leaves in tact, rinsed and dried
1 recipe Vegetable Filling (recipe below)
Place a couple of meatballs into a lettuce leaf, top with the vegetable filling and serve with a bottle of Sri Racha nearby.
Grilled Pork Meatballs
1 lb Ground Pork
3/4 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 Egg
1 Garlic Clove, grated
1 to 2 inches Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup Fish Sauce
2 tsp Sri Racha
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
In a bowl, combine the ingredients well using your hands or a spatula. Fashion into meatballs about the size of a Russian teacake or a little larger. Grill over low heat for 30-45 minutes glazing at regular intervals.
Note: Unless you have some sort of bbq friendly pan for cooking you can rig up a little foil tray to place on the bbq so the meatballs won’t fall through.
Glaze
1/4 cup Honey
1-2 TBS cup Fish Sauce
A Good Squirt on Sri Racha
Gently warm the glaze in a sauce pan and brush on the meatballs as they cook.
Vegetable Filling
1 Cucumber, peeled, sliced in half, seeds removed and sliced
2-3 Carrots, julienned
A Handful of Bean Sprouts
2 Scallions, sliced
1/4 cup Basil or Mint or Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves (loosely packed)
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1-2 inches Ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup Fish Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 TBS Sri Racha or Sambal Oelek
Combine the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and stir. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Use for meatball wraps.
I hope one day you will be able to realize your dream of swimming in a vat of pho while eating a bahn mi sandwich
Seriously though, these look absolutely delicious!
Thanks Jen, if only more people dared to dream.
Oh we are taking delivery of a quarter piggy in April (finally found a guaranteed humane local source!)so all things pork interest me right now. This is beautiful,and you know, I’m pretty sure I remember the pho post.
Rosemary, Thank you and enjoy your pig!
I imagined myself swimming in a pool of soy sauce with marinated pork
Thats awesome Brian, welcome to The Endive Chronicles!
I was looking around for a list of endives and got to see your lovely post.
I’m Vietnamese, so imagine how happy I am to hear that a non-Vietnamese likes pho and banh mi 
I’m also a foodie in the Bay Area, it’s great to meet you!
Thank you very much Mai and welcome, its great to meet you too. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, Vietnamese food is some of the best on earth!
I’ve had a hankerin’ (yes, I said ‘hankerin’) for meatballs lately, and these look right up my alley.
Leslie, I hanker for a hunk-a cheese.
Oh my goodness! These look divine. Now I think I might have to join Leslie and have a hankerin’ for these little nuggets of yummyness.
I have not found really good Asian food of any type here. So I too usually have to make my own. Every time I go back to Australia I gorge myself on Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese food.
I love lettuce wraps, and the pork meatballs guarantee you won’t feel too awfully, boringly healthy.
I do too Claudia!
Hi Erin, I made these meatballs the other night and they were delicious!!! Thanks.
You are more than welcome Carla! Thank you so much for letting me know. It is always a boost to hear someone other than Phil and I enjoyed one of my recipes!
We had these on the streets in Hanoi at these little informal eateries where you sit on toddler chairs at tiny tables. They were served along with fried spring rolls, a soup and lots of fresh herbs. Fabulous!
Bordeaux, Lucky! I really want to visit Vietnam, the food is off the charts delicious. The closest I’ve gotten is living vicariously through you in your travels.