Vietnamese Xiu Mai Bun Recipes

VIETNAMESE XIU MAI BUN

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil.
• Meanwhile make the meatballs. Mix the pork, tablespoon of sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, minced garlic, and salt. Form small meatballs.
• When the water boils, pour over the noodles and let sit about 20 minutes.
• Brown the meatballs in a hot frying pan. When they are fully browned, remove from the pan. Don't clean out the pan.
• In the same pan, add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Stir to dissolve, then allow it to cook on high without stirring until it becomes very browned and bubbly. This is caramel.
• Add the final cup of water and stir to combine. Return the meatballs to the pan and cook in the caramel sauce for 15 minutes.
• For the Dressing, prepare the lemongrass. Remove the stringy woody layers until you get the tender center. Chop the lemongrass into small pieces. Chop the chiles into thin rounds. Bring the water to a simmer and add the lemongrass sugar and chiles. Let this sit for 15 minutes. Finally, add the fish sauce.
• Strain and rinse the noodles.
• Chop the peanuts, mint, cucumber, scallions and lettuce. Grate the carrots with a box grater.
• Place the noodles in the bowl first, arrange the rest of the ingredients around the noodles in the bowl. Serve with the sauce on the side and lots of sriracha!

VIETNAMESE MEATBALLS (XIU MAI)

Steps:

• Remove the jicama skin using a vegetable peeler. Finely dice the jicama.
• Cut off the white (root) portion of the green onions and finely chop. Chop the green onion stems. Transfer the green onion stems into a small bowl and set aside for later.
• In a medium bowl, add the ground pork, jicama, green onion (white) root, garlic, fish sauce, corn starch and ground black pepper. Mix together by hand combining all of the ingredients well. Combine just until everything sticks together. Avoid over-working the meat mixture as this will make the meatballs tough.
• Using a tablespoon, scoop out some of the meat mixture and transfer to a large plate. Continue making small mounds until all the meat mixture is used. Wet your palms with water to prevent sticking. Gently roll each of the mounds into a ball.
• Chop the tomatoes.
• Heat a large skillet over Medium High heat and when hot add vegetable oil. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste. Stir fry for 15-20 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and combine together. Add the sugar, fish sauce and water. Stir together combining the ingredients. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to Medium Low, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
• Make room in the center of the skillet by pushing the tomatoes to the side. Gently transfer the meatballs into the sauce. Cover and cook on Medium Low heat for 5 minutes. After this time, rotate the meatballs and cook for another 5 minutes.
• To make the thickener, mix the corn starch and water until smooth. Add to the sauce. Combine gently and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Top with ground black pepper.
• To serve, transfer a few meatballs into a small bowl along with a generous amount of tomato sauce. Top with the chopped green onion stems. Enjoy these scrumptious Vietnamese Meatballs with crusty bread.

VIETNAMESE XIU MAI BUN

Steps:

• For The Dressing: Whisk together vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic and red pepper flakes in small bowl; set aside.
• To make the meatballs, mix the pork, one tablespoon of sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, minced garlic and salt. Form into small meatballs.
• Heat a frying pan and brown the meatballs. When they are fully browned, remove from the pan. Don't clean out the pan. In the same pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup of water. Stir to dissolve, then allow it to cook on high without stirring until it becomes very browned and bubbly. This is caramel. Add the final 1 cup of water and stir to combine. Return the meatballs to the pan and cook in the caramel sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to coat.
• Meanwhile, chop the peanuts, cilantro, cucumber, scallions and lettuce. Grate the carrots with a box grater.
• Place the noodles in large flat bowls first, arrange the meatballs along with the rest of the ingredients around the noodles in the bowl. Serve with Sriracha.