Meatball Noodle Bowl

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat of choice
1/4 chopped fresh basil
4 minced garlic cloves
3 green onions finely chopped
1 T fish sauce
1 T sriracha
1 T sugar
2 t cornstarch
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t kosher or coarse salt

For the noodle bowl:

Carrot Daikon Salad (see below)
1 c thinly sliced cucumber
6 cups sliced green leaf or romaine lettuce
1/2 c mint sprigs
1/2 c Thai basil sprigs
1/2 c cilantro
1 large jalapeno sliced
1 1/2 c fresh bean sprouts
Nuoc Cham (Dressing for the salad)
Rice Stick Noodles (Maifun) (1 package)
1/2 c chopped peanuts
Meatballs from above

For the Nuoc Cham:
1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice
1 finely chopped garlic clove
3 T fish sauce
4 T sugar
4 T water
1/4 t red chili flakes
1 T sweet chili sauce (Mae Ploy)

For the Carrot Daikon Salad:
2 c carrots (Slice carrots lengthwise in half. Then cut each half into long flat slices. Then stack these slices and cut into thin strips.)
2 c daikon (Japanese white radish), cut like the carrots
¼ c unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ c sugar
1 t kosher salt

Instructions:

Makes enough for 4 bowls

Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Form each into about 2 inch meatballs. Chill. I then put these on a grill tray and slowly grilled these on the grill at medium high heat while turning them as they browned. Make sure you oil the grill tray. Or you could skewer them like shish kebab and grill them slowly.

Noodle Bowl (for 4):
Soak rice noodles in hot or boiling water. Let soften for about 10 minutes. You may have to keep changing your water to get these soft enough. Consistency is important here. Not too soft, not too hard. ADrain well when they are ready. Slice or chop all ingredients. To prepare individual salad: Put a handful of noodles in a bowl. Top with lettuce. Top with mint, basil, cilantro, jalapenos and bean sprouts. Add some carrot daikon salad. Place meatballs on last. Garnish with peanuts. Serve with Nuoc Cham on the side so diners can add as needed.

Nuoc Cham:
Note: After reading about fish sauce I realized that the reason it was so hard to get my nuoc cham tasting like the restaurants was clearly related to the quality of fish sauce used. A preferred brand is Three Crabs fish sauce, also labeled Viet Huong. There are other more expensive brands that I would like to try but this one worked out well. And this sauce is crucial to the taste of the noodle bowl.

For the Nuoc Cham: Mix together until the sugar dissolves.

Carrot Daikon Pickled Salad:
Toss all together in a bowl. Let stand 1 hour tossing occasionally. Drain before putting on Banh Mi.

From thisishowicook.blogspot.com