Lemongrass adds a delicious fragrance and slightly citrussy flavour to these spicy meatballs. They’re served in a warming savoury sauce with a hint of sweet and sour flavour that makes it totally scrumptious. Serve with fresh egg noodles (usually in the salad section of the supermarket) that can be quickly heated up, directly in the sauce.
Nicky’s Recipe Notes
The citrusy, umami flavours of these meatballs pair perfectly with the savoury soy of the noodles. It makes a great weekday dinner as it only takes 30 minutes to be on the table!
- I love the versatility of this dish. You can swap out the pork mince for chicken, turkey or beef mince.
- Using fresh noodles means they don’t need an extra pan for boiling. You can add them straight into the pan with the meatballs. They soak up that lovely sauce too.
- You can leave out the fresh chilli and chilli flakes if you’re cooking for anyone who doesn’t like heat. The flavour is still fantastic, without the spiciness.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
Pork Mince – We’re using 10% fat, which is just right. Any lower in fat and that can dry the meatballs out.
Oil – Use a neutral oil such as vegetable, sunflower, or avocado.
Lemongrass – We’re using fresh lemongrass with the outer leaves removed, very finely chopped. Replace with lemongrass paste if you can’t find it (sub 2 teaspoons paste for one stalk lemongrass).
Coriander (cilantro) – We’re using the finely chopped coriander stalks in the meatballs and the leaves in the sauce.
📺 Watch how to make it
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl and use your hands to form the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs. Then, fry the meatballs in oil until all sides are browned.
- Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and pour the sauce into the pan with the meatballs and allow to bubble before adding in the noodles and cooking until they are hot.
- Stir the coriander through and turn off the heat before dividing the noodles and meatballs between four bowls and serving them topped with black sesame seeds.
Pro Tip
If you don’t want to make your own meatballs, you can buy ready-made. Pork, turkey, chicken or beef meatballs all work with this recipe. You can add the lemongrass directly to the sauce, so you still get that lemongrass flavour.
The meatballs absorb the flavour from the sauce beautifully!
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- While I LOVE the sauce on the noodles, you can switch it up with these Sesame Noodles or these Stir-fried Noodles with Bean Sprouts.
- I also like to serve this with a dollop of Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce.
🍲 More fantastic Meatball Dinners
? Frequently Asked Questions
You can make this ahead in a couple of ways, by making the meatball mixture a few hours ahead and refrigerating until you are ready to shape them into meatballs and cook. You can also make the sauce mixture ahead and keep in a sealed container in the fridge.
I would not recommend making the whole dish ahead as the noodles can get soggy when you reheat it.
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Pork and Lemongrass Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
Pork Meatballs
- 500 g (1.1lb) pork mince approx 10% fat
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 stalk fresh lemongrass outer leaves removed, inner stalk very finely chopped (or 2 teaspoons lemongrass paste)
- 1 red chilli finely chopped (or replace with ½ teaspoon chilli flakes)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks we’ll be using the leaves in the sauce.
Also:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice approx. the juice of one lime
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons) cold water
- 500 g (1.1lb) fresh egg noodles
- 15 g (approx. ¼ packed cup) finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place all of the meatball ingredients into a large bowl and mix together with your hands. Form the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs – you should get around 20 meatballs.500 g (1.1lb) pork mince, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 egg, 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, 1 red chilli, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper, 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, and brown on all sides – this should take around 6-8 minutes.2 tbsp oil
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, chilli flakes, cornflour and water.2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 1 tsp cornflour, 60 ml (4 tablespoons) cold water
- Pour the mixture into the pan with the meatballs. Allow to bubble for 2 minutes, then make a little space in the centre of the pan and add the noodles. Toss the noodles in the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the noodles are hot.500 g (1.1lb) fresh egg noodles
- Stir through the coriander, then turn off the heat.15 g (approx. ¼ packed cup) finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- Divide the noodles between four bowls and add the meatballs, then serve topped with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds.1 tsp black sesame seeds
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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