Vietnamese food is one of my favorite types of Asian food. At 30 weeks pregnant, I’ve been craving it a lot lately. It’s a bit too hot for Pho so I decided to make a fresh and light dish at home instead. Every time I prepare Vietnamese food at home, I channel my cooking muse: Mr. Lee. As I describe in my Vietnamese Beef Salad post, I spent many Sunday dinners growing up at a local Vietnamese restaurant run by Mr. Lee. My family of 5 would father around the big round table and share all of our favorite Vietnamese dishes.
Today’s dish is inspired by the traditional Vietnamese Pork Meatballs and Vermicelli dish which my mother would order regularly. Sweet, salty, spicy and sweet – this noodle bowl would combine tasty pork meatballs, crunchy egg rolls, fresh vegetables plenty of fragrant herbs. To lighten the dish, I decided to swap lean turkey breast for ground pork. Instead of eating it as a big bowl of noodles, I stuff the meatballs in lettuce wraps filled with tomatoes, cucumber, fresh mint, thai basil and a bit of rice vermicelli noodles. Be sure to dip in prepared fish sauce (found at my favorite Asian market: Asian Delight Market or any Asian market in town or online.)
Your fork is waiting.
Vietnamese Turkey Meatballs with Vermicelli
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 4 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs fish sauce
- 1 tbs corn starch
- 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp chili garlic paste
- 1/2 tbs sugar
- 4 oz Vermicelli Rice Noodles
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Fresh Mint
- Thai Basil
- Scallions
- Prepared Fish Sauce to serve
Instructions:
- Combine ground turkey next 7 ingredients (garlic through sugar) in a medium bowl.
- Mix well so that all ingredients are fully incorporated. Let mixture stand in the refrigerator for an hour to set.
- In the meantime, prepare rice vermicelli noodles according to package instructions (usually just cover with boiling water.)
- Wash lettuce, tomato, cucumber and fresh herbs. Place everything on a big platter.
- Ten minutes before serving, pre-heat grill to high.
- Form meat into meatballs and thread on bamboo skewers.
- Grill for 3 minutes per side or until fully cooked.
- Serve meatballs as little tacos in the lettuce and dip into the prepared fish sauce. Alternatively, you could create a noodle bowl and add the meatballs and chopped vegetables before tossing with prepared fish sauce.
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