serves
4-6
prep
30 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4-6
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 200 g dried rice vermicelli, cooked according to packet directions
- fresh coriander leaves, lime wedges and steamed Asian greens, to serve
Meatballs
- 500 g pork and veal mince (see Baker’s tips)
- 18 g (⅓ cup) panko rice crumbs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 3 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1½ tbsp finely chopped drained canned water chestnuts
- 5 green shallots, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup finely chopped coriander
Sauce
- 2 tsp peanut oil
- 3 tbsp good-quality green curry paste, or to taste (see Baker’s tips)
- 125 ml (½ cup) good-quality chicken stock
- 500 ml (1 cup) water
- 440 ml can coconut milk
- 4 makrut lime leaves
- 2 tsp fish sauce, or to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice, or to taste
- 2 tsp grated palm or brown sugar, or to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
Combine the mince, crumbs, milk, ginger, water chestnuts, green shallots and coriander in a large bowl and mix well with your hands until thoroughly combined. Use damp hands to roll 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place in one layer in a shallow 20 cm x 30 cm /2.5 litre (10 cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Cover and place in the fridge while making the sauce.
To make the sauce, combine the peanut oil and curry paste in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until aromatic. Add the stock, coconut milk, makrut lime leaves, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and bring just to a simmer over medium heat.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are just cooked through. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with extra fish sauce, lime just and sugar if desired.
Divide the noodles among four bowls and spoon over the meatballs and some of the sauce. Top with coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges and steamed Asian greens.
Baker’s tips
• You can also use just pork mince for this recipe.
• You may find you need to use a little less or add a little more green curry paste depending on the brand you use as they can vary greatly in flavour and heat intensity. Keep also in mind what your childrens’ flavour preferences as you don’t want to make it too hot for their sensitive tastebuds.
Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Sarah O’Brien. Food preparation by Tina McLeish. Creative concept by Lou Fay.
Enamel bowls from Wiltshire.
Anneka's mission is to connect home cooks with the magic of baking, and through this, with those they love. For hands-on baking classes and baking tips, visit her at . Don't miss what's coming out of her oven via ,, and .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
