This was a triumphant little dish that I came up with, using pretty much what I had in the fridge. Not having kids in the house at the moment means that I need to get a tad more creative, otherwise I will be throwing out a whole heap of fresh food. This was delightfully simple to make, budget friendly and healthy. The perfect summer midweek meal.
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time: 20 Minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
Peanut oil for frying (veg, canola, rice bran are a good substitute)
500gm lean pork mince
2 tbs of red curry paste
A handful of coriander stalks, finely chopped
2cm piece of ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
2 tbs of fish sauce
1/4 cup of light soy sauce
1 tbs of honey
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup of granulated peanuts, toasted in a dry pan
1 red chilli, sliced (optional)
1 cup of coriander leaves for garnish
For the salad:
200gm of rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes
1 carrot, finely julienned*
1 cucumber, halved, deseeded and finely sliced diagonally
2 radishes, halved and finely sliced
2 tbs of rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbs of caster sugar
Place the pork mince, curry paste, coriander stalks, garlic, ginger, egg and breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl and use your hands to combine. Dampen your hands and use them to roll golf ball size meatballs. Heat a large frypan and add a little oil. Fry the meatballs on both sides until golden (you may need to do this in batches). Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, lime zest and honey. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Place the meatballs back in the pan and use a spoon to coat the meatballs. Allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes, basting or turning the meatballs occasionally. Once cooked through, remove the meatballs from the heat and allow to cool slightly before serving.
In another bowl, combine the rice wine vinegar, caster sugar and lime juice with a fork or whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Place the carrot, cucumber and radish in the bowl and toss the vegetables to coat.
Drain the noodles and then cover with boiling water for approximately 30 seconds, drain again and run under cold water.
To serve, divide the noodles between four serving bowls. For nice presentation, place them to one side and then divide the salad between the bowls on the other side. Place the meatballs on top and spoon over the sticky sauce. Garnish with the peanuts, chilli and coriander leaves.
You may be wondering how I get my carrot julienne so fine. I have a wonder tool that looks a lot like a flat peeler but has a little serrated edge on it. You can by them at most kitchen shops or online and they are very reasonably priced. I use mine all the time and it really takes a lot of the hard work out of the equation, fantastic for presentation too. Check the link below……
https://www.house.com.au/baccarat-cuisinepro-y-julienne-peeler