Vietnamese meatball banh mi

Vietnamese meatball banh mi

Made with Mutti Polpa

Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes is a unique product that combines the juice of the tomato with its thinly diced flesh, and is able to retain all the freshness of just picked fruit. A very versatile product, Mutti Polpa is perfect for both quick cook dishes and dishes that cook slowly or at high temperatures. It takes 5kg of fresh tomatoes to make 1kg of Mutti Polpa. It is made by the patented Mutti cold crushing method which ensures it retains all the flavour and fragrance of a ripe tomato (and is still a closely guarded secret to this day!).

cooking sketch 40 min (COOK TIME: 40 min)

Ingredients

For the Vietnamese pickled carrots:

  • 2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into thin match like sticks
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp salt

For the meatballs:

  • 500 g pork mince
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 x 225 g canned sliced water chestnuts, drained & finely chopped
  • 1/4 brown onion, finely diced
  • 3/4 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

For the tomato sauce:

  • 2 tins of Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes
  • 1/2 brown onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
  • 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder or 1/2 chicken stock cube
  • 1 cup water
  • White pepper
  • Salt

Toppings to serve:

  • Vietnamese pickled carrots
  • Lebanese cucumber, sliced length wise
  • Butter, softened
  • sprigs of coriander
  • Spring onion, green part only, cut lengthwise
  • Vietnamese bread rolls ((or any other long crusty bread rolls) )
  • Fried shallots
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Vietnamese meatball banh mi: Method

Vietnamese pickled carrots:

  1. Mix the salt, sugar, vinegar and water in a clean container. Stir, until the sugar is fully dissolved before submerging the carrot in the pickling liquid.
  2. Adjust with the salt and sugar so you get a mix of sweet, tangy and mild saltiness.
  3. Put a lid on the container and store in the fridge, till ready to serve.

Meatballs:

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is well mixed.
  2. Cover and set aside in the fridge for 15 minutes. During this time, set up a steamer for cooking the meatballs.
  3. Shape the meatballs by rolling up one heaped tablespoon of mixture into a ball and place it on to a plate that will fit in the steamer.
  4. Repeat this with all the mixture – you may need to cook the meatballs in two batches.
  5. Place the plate of meatballs in the steamer and cook for 15 minutes.

Tomato sauce:

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic till the onion is softened but not browned.
  2. Add Mutti Polpa, sugar, fish sauce and chicken powder to the wok and stir everything together. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce to low heat to simmer for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Once the meatballs are ready, place them in the tomato sauce and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. The sauce shouldn’t be too thick, if it is, add a little extra water.
  5. To serve, slice a bread roll lengthwise and place meatballs with a bit of sauce inside followed by the coriander, spring onion and pickled carrot. Finish with a sprinkle of fried shallots.

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Also made with: Mutti Polpa


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