Asian Pork Balls with Chilli Dipping Sauce

"Party Pleasers", theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). There are so many recipes of Diana Henry's that are so fitting for a party. I've selected  Asian Pork Balls with Chilli Dipping Sauce. I love meatballs, especially when they are fried and dipped in chilli sauce with some cucumbers to munch on! I could eat a plateful! So, if meatballs are served at a party, you will definitely find them on my plate!

Diana Henry's recipe comes with chili sauce for dipping, but I've only made the meatballs and not the chilli sauce, since I'm really trying to use up all the leftover sauces in my refrigerator, and I already have about a quarter jar of chili dipping sauce, which I really wanted to clear. But if you prefer to make your own, I've included the recipe for the chilli dipping sauce in the recipe below.

The pork balls are really easy to put together. All ingredients are combined ; minced pork, chopped bacon, chopped coriander, chopped spring onions, crushed garlic and ginger, chopped red chilli, lime juice and zest, seasoned with salt and pepper. Once everything are combined, I test-fried one pork ball, ate it to check on the seasoning, and I immediately knew that my family would love this! It is delicious!

According to the recipe, when the mixture are formed into balls, it is advisable to refrigerate them for at least an hour, to firm them up otherwise they tend to fall apart when fried right after. I did not do this, but I did refrigerate the mixture in a covered bowl for about an hour or so, and form the balls just before frying, which seems to work out fine.

These pork balls are delicious. Moist, very tasty and fragrant from the fresh herbs and lime. We had this with rice for our weeknight dinner, and there's a request for these again. Yums!

This would indeed be great for a party, that is, if ALL of it make it to the party table! :)

Asian Pork Balls with Chilli Dipping Sauce

(adapted from "Food From Plenty", Diana Henry)

Serves 6

For the Chilli Sauce :

6 large red chillies, 3 deseeded and roughly chopped

5cm (2in) root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

grated zest of 3 and juice of 2 limes

12 garlic cloves

1 large bunch of coriander, leaves only

300gm (10-1/2oz) caster sugar

50ml (2fl oz) Thai fish sauce

120ml (4fl oz) white wine vinegar

For the Pork Balls :

1 kg (2lb 4oz) minced pork

200gm (7oz) bacon, very finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2cm (3/4in) fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

grated zest of 1 and juice of 1/2 lime

3 spring onions, finely chopped

10gm (1/4 oz) coriander, finely chopped

salt and pepper

groundnut oil, for frying

1. First make the chilli sauce. Put the chillies, ginger, lime zest and juice, garlic and coriander leaves into a food processor and puree into a coarse puree. Put the sugar into a thick-bottomed pan with 6 tbsp water and place on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat slowly and gradually boil until the syrup becomes a caramel colour. Stir in the paste, fish sauce and vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes. Leave to cool.
2. Mix everything for the pork balls (not the oil) together in a large bowl, combining all the ingredients with your hands to make sure they get well mixed. Season well. Pull off chunks and form into balls about the size of a walnut. It is better to chill these before cooking them, otherwise they tend to fall apart, so lay them on a baking sheet, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour or so.
3. Heat about 1cm (1/2 in) oil in a frying pan and cook the pork balls in batches, colouring them all over. It takes about 4 minutes, but do check you are frying them long enough for the pork in the middle to be cooked
4. Serve with the chilli sauce (or indeed a bought dipping sauce, such as Thai chilli or plum) and eat with plain boiled rice and stir-fried vegetables.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), the theme for this week, "Party Pleasers"

and 

Cook-Your-Books #19 @ kitchen flavours