BONUS: Easy Thai Meatball Salad (Yum Look Chin)
This Thai meatball salad is absolutely a hidden, underrated gem of Thai cuisine; something you only see in home cooking and rarely in restaurants!
Ingredients · Servings 3
- ½ lb Asian style meatballs (pork, chicken, beef or fish, cut in bite sized pieces)
- 5-6 sprigs cilantro
- 1-2 Thai chilies (to taste)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 ½ Tbsp 18 g palm sugar
- 3 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 ½ Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1 medium tomato (cut in wedges)
- 2 stalks celery (thinly sliced, plus a handful of celery leaves)
- 1 green onion (chopped)
- A handful of mint leaves (optional)
- 3 Tbsp roasted peanuts (roughly chopped, optional)
- Jasmine rice (for serving)
Method · 10 min
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add the meatballs and cook for about 2 minutes or until heated through. Drain and set aside.
- Cut the cilantro sprigs in half, dividing the leafy part from the part with only stems. Roughly chop both parts of the cilantro but keep them separated.
- For the dressing: In a mortar and pestle, add the chopped cilantro stems, garlic and chilies and pound into a fine paste. Add the palm sugar and pound to dissolve, then add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir until all the sugar is dissolved into the dressing.
- Add the meatballs to a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over and mix. Add all the vegetables and herbs and toss to mix.
- Plate and top with roasted peanuts and serve with jasmine rice.
Though most of the time you see these meatballs in noodle soups, you can actually put them in anything, and salad is probably my favourite way to eat them. The tangy dressing goes super well with the salty, umami meatballs.
- 1 ½ tablespoon 18 g palm sugar
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoon roasted peanuts, roughly chopped, optional
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add the meatballs and cook for about 2 minutes or until heated through. Drain and set aside.½ lb Asian style meatballs.
- Cut the cilantro sprigs in half, dividing the leafy part from the part with only stems. Roughly chop both parts of the cilantro but keep them separated.5-6 sprigs cilantro.
- For the dressing: In a mortar and pestle, add the chopped cilantro stems, garlic and chilies and pound into a fine paste. Add the palm sugar and pound to dissolve, then add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir until all the sugar is dissolved into the dressing.1-2 Thai chilies, 1 clove garlic, 1 ½ Tbsp 18 g palm sugar, 3 Tbsp lime juice, 2 ½ Tbsp fish sauce.
- Add the meatballs to a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over and mix. Add all the vegetables and herbs and toss to mix.1 cup shredded green cabbage, 1 medium tomato, 2 stalks celery, 1 green onion, A handful of mint leaves.
- Plate and top with roasted peanuts and serve with jasmine rice.3 Tbsp roasted peanuts, Jasmine rice.
