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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Delicious! I made this tonight for me and my husband and I wish I doubled the recipe so we could have more. I could not find fish sauce at our local grocery so I used oyster sauce instead, gave it a sweet flavor.
Also I cheated a little and used a garlic hosin VH sauce to drizzle on top of the meatballs instead of the recipe sauce which I’m sure is delicious.
I found these meatballs dry. could i use less panko?
Hi Pat, you could decrease the panko a little, but if you decrease it too much, the meatballs won’t stick together and will get tough. Try cutting it back by a few tablespoons and see if that helps. You may also want to remove the meatballs from the oven a minute or two earlier. Hope that helps!
Don’t use lean meat. That’s probably why they were dry.
Delicious! I do add Sriracha, extra nam pla and homemade lemongrass paste to mine. I love them over jasmine rice topped with the mint/cilantro/scallion/jalepeno slices/crushed peanuts and a homemade Sriracha Lime mayo!
I make these about once a month, I’m always craving them!
Oh, I also add Vietnamese pickled carrot and daikon to my bowl as well!
These were delicious! I don’t usually like bothering with so many ingredients with my little kiddos whirl wind around the house but it was worth it! I did not have fresh ginger so I substituted about of teaspoon of dried. Probably could have used more dried ginger as I didn’t detect much. I had to be careful to measure the sauce ingredients; I have to take extra care to not be sloppy with tart / sugar combinations it or needs tweaking. So be sure to measure lime and sugar exactly! I used RedBoat fish sauce this time; I’ve used Dynasty brand in the past which smelled foul fishy rather than dank fishy ( I mean dank in a good way ;)) so buy the better fish sauce! Will make these again and double the recipe next time.
This was awesome. I made it with the recommended side dish – the fruit in ginger sauce thingy shown in the pics. My wife took one bite of the first meatball and said, “This is an 11”, which reminded me of Spinal Tap. She was so jazzed that she tweeted a pic of the meal, with a link to this website to be polite about it LOL Well, here it is: https://twitter.com/blitherbabble/status/1080988355255590912 . Anyway, I made the dish precisely to the recipe, which I rarely do, and it came out perfectly. Like, seriously perfectly. I wouldn’t change a thing. Can’t wait to have it again.
These were really good. I was a bit alarmed at the amount of fish sauce because i usually only use very little in other recipes(1/2-1tsp) and its well, pungent, but i proceeded lol and did not regret it. I love big flavor and these babies brought it. I used a Leaner ground beef because thats all i had but mixed with the pork ,i think,helped it not come out too dense or dry.
I have made these meatballs several times. I love the fresh mix of flavors! I recently made these meatballs slightly smaller and served them along with the dipping sauce as an appetizer. It was the hit of the party!
Can these be made with other meats than pork?
Sure, Jennifer – you could use veal, beef or chicken.
Made the meatballs and they are delicious. The sauce however, was so. salty. it couldn’t be used. Even tried boiling it with potatoes to reduce the saltiness with no luck. Any thoughts on why this could have been? Would tripling the recipe have made a difference?
Hi Diana, Sorry you found the sauce too salty. I don’t think you did anything wrong; this is a salty, strongly flavored sauce and it is meant to be used sparingly – a drizzle is all you need.
So so yummy and full of flavor! I was excited for leftovers!
We have served these wonderful meatballs over rice and also as part of a “banh mi” bar at parties – with pickled veggies, sriracha mayo, fresh jalapeno, cilantro, etc. Always a huge hit! We love “big” flavors” and the only changes we generally make are to increase the garlic and ginger as well as adding fresh chopped basil to the meatballs. Basil, mint, and cilantro are kind of a trinity for us when cooking with this flavor profile.