Juicy, Savory, and So Satisfying-Let’s Make Vietnamese Meatballs!

Hello foodies. Hope you are all doing well! Today, I want to share with you one of my all time favorite dishes: Vietnamese-style pork meatballs with tomato sauce. It’s simple, hearty, and perfect with white rice. Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients:

• Minced pork (about 300–400g)
• Wood ear mushrooms (soaked and finely chopped)
• Ripe tomatoes (3–4 juicy fresh ones)
• Spring onions, shallots, and garlic
• Salt, sugar, black pepper, fish sauce
• A bit of MSG (optional)
• Cooking oil

How to make it:
Step 1: Soak the wood ear mushrooms in hot water until they’re soft but still have a bit of crunch. Rinse them clean, then chop finely. This mushroom adds a unique texture slightly crunchy, healthy and delicious.

Step 2: Use a large bowl, mix the minced pork with the chopped mushrooms, chopped shallots, garlic, spring onion, salt, black pepper, a little fish sauce, and a little MSG if you like it. Mix until everything is well combined.

Step 3: Turn the mixture into meatballs about the size of a plum or whatever size you want 😀 I like to make mine like in the photos so they’re satisfying without being too big or small. Now make it well and make some cute balls.

Step 4: Heat some oil in a pan and fry the meatballs until golden brown on the outside. Don’t overcook them because it will make the meat balls dry, just enough to seal in the juices. Set them aside. And get ready for the main part of making tomato sauce.

Step 5: In the same pan, sauté more garlic, then add chopped tomatoes. Let them cook down until they look a bit soft, then add water, some sugar, fish sauce, and a bit of MSG if you like. Adjust the flavor to your liking. This sauce should be savory, and a little sweet and sour. So if you like more sweet just adjust the sugar or add more tomatoes if you like a bit more sour.

Step 6: Add the meatballs back in, and let them simmer in the sauce for 10–15 minutes. This is where the magic happens. The meatballs soak up the rich tomato flavor, and everything comes together beautifully. The smell now is so good. I can't wait to eat them.😀

Step 7: The dish is almost done now, just before eating, toss in a bit more chopped spring onion and some black pepper on top of the meatballs.

Look at this beautiful dish!

Tada, time to eat! Don’t forget to prepare some white rice. It goes really well with the dish. The meatballs are juicy, tender, and flavorful, with a little crunch from the mushroom that makes every bite interesting. The tomato sauce is comforting, rich, slightly sweet and sour. Everytime I have this dish, I eat a lot, can't stop eating. 😂

So if you’re not sure what to cook tomorrow, make these meatballs. You’ll thank yourself later!
Hope you enjoy my post and have a great day/night everyone!
All photos was taken by myself in my lovely kitchen :))