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Looking down at a bowl of Xiu Mai vietnamese meatballs.
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Xiu Mai (Vietnamese Meatballs)

There is nothing more comforting than this xiu mai (Vietnamese meatballs) recipe. These juicy pork and jicama meatballs lay in a delicious pool of hearty umami-flavored tomato sauce.
Course Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Recipes
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword Vietnamese meatballs, Vietnamese pork meatballs, xiu mai, xiu mai recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 526kcal
Author takestwoeggs

Equipment

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 ½ lbs ground pork
  • ½ (140 g) yellow onion diced
  • ¼ (140 g) jicama finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Sauce

  • 20 whole garlic cloves minced
  • 1 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 4 cup water
  • 3 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 medium tomatoes diced (optional)

Serve with

  • green onion minced
  • handful of cilantro
  • French Bread, rice or rice Noodles

Instructions

  • Season the meat. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground pork, diced onions, and finely diced jicama. Add the salt, chicken powder, sugar, and black pepper and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.
  • Shape the meatballs. Using spray oil, lightly grease two large heatproof plates with a lip that can fit in the basket of your steamer and hold the meat juices. Using your hands tightly shape the meat into 1 to 2-inch meatballs and place them on the greased tray.
  • Steam the meatballs. Boil water in a steamer. Place the meat in the steamer and steam on high heat for 10 minutes. You may need to steam the meatballs in batches. Remember to reserve the meat juice.
  • Cook the tomato sauce. In a large skillet, add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and the minced garlic. Sauté on medium-high until the garlic is fragrant and golden brown. Then turn the heat to low and mix in the 6 oz can of tomato paste and sauté for together for 30 seconds. Next add the sugar, fish sauce, and sauté for another for 30 seconds. (If you are using freshly chopped tomatoes, add them here.) Lastly, add 4 cups of water and mix until combined.
  • Cook the meatballs in the sauce. On high heat, add all the meatballs with the meat juice. Cook for 20-30 minutes on high heat uncovered until the sauce reduces by 2/3s and thickens.
  • Serve. Top with chopped scallions and cilantro and enjoy either with a baguette, in a banh mi, with rice, or with noodles!

Notes

  • Use fattier ground pork. The more fat there is in the pork, the juicier the meatball. If your local butcher allows it, ask them to grind pork shoulder through their grinder 2x.
  • Tightly pack the xiu mai meatballs with your hands. Make sure the meat is tightly formed into balls so the meat won’t fall apart.
  • Steam the meatballs. Since pork is a leaner meat, steaming the Vietnamese meatballs ensures that the pork remains juicy.
  • Keep the meatball juice from the plate! When removing the meatballs from the steamer, make sure to save the juice from the meatballs to use in the tomato sauce later.
  • You can add fresh tomatoes to the sauce if you prefer. If you prefer a more chunky tomato sauce, you can add diced tomatoes when you are adding the fish sauce and sugar to the tomato sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 526kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 1961mg | Potassium: 678mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg