Grilled Vietnamese Pork Meatballs Recipe

Grilled Vietnamese Pork Meatballs Recipe
It’s grilling season! Ever since our first mini grilling session, Mike and I have been living the patio life, grilling up anything and everything in sight. We’ve been doing a lot of vegetables, and along with those, we’ve been doing the every so classic Vietnamese nem nuong. If you guys haven’t had nem nuong, you’re missing out. Juicy, perfectly grilled pork seasoned with fish sauce, garlic, pepper, and a touch of sugar.

Nem nuong, or nem, which just means sausage, for short, is a staple on most Vietnamese menus. It’s a signature pink color (from food coloring) and you’ll usually see it grilled or pan-fried and served with rice or vermicelli. It comes in patties, balls, or sometimes on a skewer. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can order it with a ton of veggies and rice paper so you can roll up your own salad rolls.

I love nem so much that it was one of the first things I learned how to say properly, instead of just saying Vietnamese sausage. When I in my early twenties, I’d go to Vietnamese places with my brother and sister-in-law, Kim, and always order the vermicelli bowl with nem and spring rolls. Eventually Kim taught me that it was called bun nem nuong cha gio. Seriously SO good.

So, when Mike said that he was going to make homemade nem, I went a little wild! I didn’t know you could make it at home! I mean, who makes sausage at home?! You know the saying, “you never want to know how the sausage is made?” Well, with these guys you don’t have to worry because you know exactly what goes into it.

Mike made these guys once and after that, kind of like sweet and savory garlic shallot chicken, I insisted on making it myself because I was in serious love. And fuck that shit that says when you love something you set it free. When you love something you hold it close. So close you almost smother it. But, in a way I guess I am setting this little recipe free because I really, really want you guys to make this!

It’s pretty easy: lightly toast some uncooked rice kernels for an amazing toasty aroma. Then pound the rice (or use a spice grinder if you have one) and make some roasted rice powder. The roasted rice powder is the secret and yes, it is absolutely necessary. After that, you’re essentially mixing/pounding a bunch of things together. Oh, there is one other ingredient that you probably don’t see much in sausage recipes: baking powder. I asked Mike what the purpose of it was and it’s for nem’s signature bouncy texture – the baking powder makes it so that the meat expands a bit when cooked.

I hope you guys get a chance to try these. And if you’re feeling really ambitious, make up a big batch of spring rolls and serve everything together with vermicelli, vegetables, and a ton of fish sauce. It’ll be an instant fave, I promise!

PS – I know I usually post Sunday Brunch stuff on Sunday but I was so excited about this that I couldn’t resist. Plus I think these would take awesome with eggs and hash browns!

Note: We use Red Boat Fish sauce, all fish sauces vary in salt levels, you may want to start with 1/2 tablespoon and go from there. To taste the seasoning, just microwave a tiny bit of the pork mixture until it’s cooked, then taste, and adjust.

Usually nem is a bright pink/red, from food coloring. We skipped out on that here, keeping it all natural.

In a small pan, toast the rice over medium heat, shaking the pan often, about 3 minutes. Once golden brown, let cool slightly and move to a mortar and pestle. Crush it into a fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

In another small bowl, mix the baking powder and water together – it will be a little foamy.

Measure out 1 tablespoon of the crushed roasted rice powder, discarding the rest. Add the rice powder, crushed garlic, sugar, and pepper to your mortar and pestle and crush until your mixture becomes a paste. Slowly add in the fish sauce and continue crushing until well mixed (this is done to minimize fish sauce splashage). Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Finally, add oil and baking powder mixture and mix well.

In a medium bowl, mix together ground pork and the seasoning paste. Using the pestle, gently crush the ground pork and seasoning together for about 2 minutes, or until it becomes a smooth, even paste.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You can also make this the night before you want to grill as well.

After the pork has rested, form into small balls, about 2 teaspoons each. Skewer balls, 3 per wooden skewer.

Grill, over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until golden and lightly charred, about 5-7 minutes. Alternatively, you can form the pork into patties and pan fry or grill them. Enjoy immediately!