Pork Meatballs With Ginger and Fish Sauce

By Kay Chun

Updated July 26, 2020

  • Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(6,319)
Comments
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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

  • 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

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ½ cup finely crushed Ritz crackers (12 crackers)

  • 1 pound ground pork

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

8 grams carbs; 82 milligrams cholesterol; 356 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 26 grams fat; 505 milligrams sodium; 20 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and use your hands to gently mix.

  2. Step 2

    Shape the meat into 12 golf-ball-size rounds (about 2 inches in diameter) and arrange on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

  3. 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).

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Ratings

5 out of 5
6,319 user ratings
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Comments

Cameron

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.

CFXK

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!

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!

Lisa

So delicious and easy to make. I added cilantro into the meatball mix. Cooked for about 20 minutes. I made rice to go with and also steamed baby bok choy. For sauce, I made one a cook had previously mentioned. Mayo, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Over the bok choy, I spooned a dressing that I made earlier in the week. Lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, thai chilis. I think next time I will make a double batch of the meatballs so that some will be left over to freeze.

BK

So easy and tasty. Adding to our weeknight rotation! I used panko rather than Ritz bc I was worried they’d be too salty otherwise. Would repeat. I also made them smaller (20 total) and they were perfect after 15 minutes in the oven. The side that was against the baking sheet had an incredible crust. Only issue is lack of sauce of any kind. Sambal worked for us but I’d like to figure out what a nice sauce pairing would be for next time.

sarah jane

delicous, great flavor. the meatballs were a little dry, will try again and add more sauce to the mix -- more fish sauce, ginger and garlic. and may try to add birds eye chilis...

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