Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce
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My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs “flavor bombs.” Serve them over rice for a quick weeknight dinner.
My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs with a deliciously bright and pungent sauce “flavor bombs” (which, by the way, is a good thing). They are flavored with fish sauce and soy sauce—two umami-rich condiments commonly used in Vietnamese cooking—along with ginger, lime, spicy Sambal Oelek (not a traditional Vietnamese ingredient, but the spicy, garlicky flavor works so well here), and fresh herbs. They practically explode with flavor. I love them over rice, but they are also delicious wrapped in lettuce cups or served over rice noodles. Be judicious with the chili sauce—a little goes a long way.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Vietnamese-Style Meatballs
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, scallions, lime zest, cilantro, and mint.
Whisk to combine.
Add the beef, pork, and panko.
Using your hands, mix until evenly combined.
Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized balls and arrange on an unlined baking sheet. The mixture will be a bit sticky; dampen your hands every so often while rolling the meatballs if necessary.
Bake for 25 minutes, flipping once with a metal spatula halfway through the cooking time, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved and not stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
Serve the meatballs drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with scallions, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.
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Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce
My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs “flavor bombs.” Serve them over rice for a quick weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 scallions, finely chopped (about ¼ cup), plus a few more for serving
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, from 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving
- ¾ lb 85% lean ground beef
- ¾ lb ground pork
- 1 cup panko
- ½ cup chopped unsalted peanuts, for serving
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce, such as Sambal Oelek, or Asian chili garlic sauce (available in Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice, from 2 to 3 limes
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, scallions, lime zest, cilantro, and mint. Whisk to combine. Add the beef, pork, and panko. Using your hands, mix until evenly combined. Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized balls and arrange on an unlined baking sheet. The mixture will be a bit sticky; dampen your hands every so often while rolling the meatballs if necessary. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping once with a metal spatula halfway through the cooking time, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through. (If the meatballs stick a bit to the pan, simply slide the metal spatula underneath them and they should release.)
- Meanwhile make the sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved and not stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Taste and add more chili sauce if desired.
- Serve the meatballs drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with scallions, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. (Be judicious with the sauce; it's very strong in flavor.)
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
- Make Ahead: The meatballs can be made completely ahead of time and refrigerated in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve them, reheat them in the microwave.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 488
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Sodium: 2046 mg
- Cholesterol: 141 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Fantastic meatballs! I use a tiny bit of the sauce as a dressing on a salad*. With the meatballs, I do a satay sauce: pan fry onions, add garlic, several tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter sauce. Remove from the stove-top and use hand held blender. Then add coconut milk to get consistency you are after.
(*big handful of mint leaves and coriander leaves; salad leaves; blanched greens of any type; long thin strips of cucumber – all elements patted dry and don’t add the dressing until immediately prior to serving)
Made these tonight exactly as written, and concur with everyone: they are delicious. My husband was concerned that the pork wouldn’t be cooked enough after the time was up, so I added 10 extra minutes to the cookingtime and then let them sit in the turned-off oven for another 10 minutes. They were as moist and perfect as they had been at the original time, so I’m guessing the pork makes them almost indestructable. Served them with the cauliflower fried rice, which was also great. But next time would try to start earlier or snag a helper, as there was quite a bit of prep involved. Thanks for another excellent recipe.
I made these meatballs exactly as the recipe is written and they are definitely a flavor bomb! And good advice to be judicious with the sauce, as it is very strong but so good! My family has requested that I make them again, soon, but double the recipe. I served the meatballs with jasmine rice and egg rolls. For dessert we had the No-Churn Key Lime Pie – another hit with my family!
I just had to try this recipe which the author described as “flavor bombs”. The meatballs were great. I served them over rice. This has been added into the family cookbook. Thanks.
Delicious meatballs and flavour bomb dipping sauce. My boyfriend and I sometimes substitute the dipping sauce with Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) when we have the meatballs in vermicelli.
These Vietnamese meatballs are a huge hit in our house! We made them as the recipe said and served them with some jasmine rice and minted cucumbers. Delicious!
Another fantastic recipe Jenn! I made it exactly as written and everyone in our family loved it, including our 2 teenagers. I wouldn’t change a thing in this recipe. I appreciate that you mentioned going easy on the sauce, as it is so packed with flavor! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Delishous! 😋 I substituted ground chicken for the beef, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. My family loved it! Thank you Jenn.
I made this with ground turkey mince, it was really tasty with rice noodles. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this last weekend with ground duck. I followed recipe but used Korean sGochujang sauce for the sauce . I served with quick microwave sticky thai jasmin rice. It turned out absolutely delicious. My husband was raving about it. I will definitely make again. As usual, thank you for another wonderful recipe