Xiu Mai (Vietnamese Meatballs)

A few weeks ago, I stopped by a banh mi shop to grab a Vietnamese iced coffee and, while I was waiting for my coffee, one of the menu items caught my attention—Xiu Mai (Vietnamese Meatballs). I was hit with nostalgia and that sounded good in that moment! I had some leftover jicama at home so I decided grabbed a bag of baguettes to-go and edited my grocery list to make some meatballs that week.

Xiu Mai is not typically something I order at a sandwich place and I can’t remember the last time that my mom cooked it. I am not sure why I haven’t made this comfort dish in my adult life, it’s easy enough. This last weekend, when I had a birthday dinner with my family, my mom offered me some pork stuffed deep-fried tofu in a tomato broth. It occurred to me that I can’t recall when she last made it because she makes a fancier version. Let’s start with the traditional and I’ll show you how to upgrade it in another posting.

Ingredients

 For meatballs:

½ lb shrimp, grounded

1 lb pork, grounded

½ tsp salt

½ tsp white pepper

1 tsp Shaoxing wine

2 tsp soy sauce

½ cup yellow onion, chopped

½ cup jicama, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

For tomato broth:

4 tomatoes 

½ Tbsp olive oil

½ Tbsp garlic, minced

1 ½ Tbsp tomato paste

1 ½ cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp black pepper 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatball together.  Roll the meat mixture into 2 tablespoons size balls.  Wet your hand with water to prevent sticking.  

 Heat a large pot over medium-high heat then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sear the meatballs until brown on all sides.  Remove the meatballs from the pot and set aside on a separate plate.

 Add an additional ½ tablespoon of olive oil to the pot then sauté the minced garlic and tomato paste until it becomes a rust color, about 30 seconds.  Add the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock.  Combine the sugar, fish sauce, and black pepper for seasoning.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow simmering for 5-8 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.   

Serve warm with toasted baguette for dipping into the broth.