Steamed Chicken & Lemongrass Meatballs

📝 Ingredients

• 360 g minced chicken
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass + 2 spring onions
• 3 garlic cloves (2 for the meatballs, 1 for the sauce)
• 10 g fresh coriander (6 for the meatballs, 4 for serving)
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (1 for the meatballs, 2 for the sauce)
• 225 g jasmine rice
• 2 carrots (about 100 g each) + ½ cucumber (about 150 g)
• 4 tbsp white vinegar (3 for the raw vegetables, 1 for the sauce)
• 3 tbsp caster sugar (1 for the raw vegetables, 2 for the sauce)
• ½ lime (for the juice)
• 430 ml water (340 for the rice, 90 for the sauce)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Steamer or steamer basket
• Saucepan with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Colander
• Kitchen knife
• Chopping board

📖 Steps

1. Prepare the raw vegetables: peel the carrots and cut them into thin matchsticks (or coarsely grate them), and slice the half cucumber into thin half-moons. Mix them in a bowl with 3 tbsp of vinegar, 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 pinch of salt, then leave to marinate in the fridge.
2. Rinse the jasmine rice in a sieve until the water runs clear. Put it in a saucepan with 340 ml of water and 1 pinch of salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 12 min over a very low heat, then leave to stand for 10 min off the heat, covered.
3. Remove the tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and keep only the bottom 10 cm, which is more tender. Chop it very finely with 2 garlic cloves, the spring onions and 6 g of coriander: the finer the mixture, the smoother the meatballs.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the minced chicken with this mixture, the cornflour, 1 tbsp of fish sauce and a little pepper. Knead by hand for 1 to 2 min until the mixture becomes sticky: this is what stops the meatballs falling apart.
5. Fill the base of the steamer with water and bring to the boil. With wet hands, shape 15 meatballs the size of a large walnut (about 30 g) and place them in the basket lined with baking paper pierced with a few holes, spacing them 1 cm apart.
6. Cover and steam for 12 min over a medium-high heat, without lifting the lid. Check they're cooked by cutting one open: the meat should be white all the way through, with no trace of pink, and the juices clear.
7. Meanwhile, make the sauce: finely chop the last garlic clove and mix it with 2 tbsp of fish sauce, 2 tbsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of vinegar, the juice of the half lime and 90 ml of warm water, until the sugar dissolves.
8. Fluff up the rice with a fork and divide it between bowls. Add the meatballs and the drained vegetables, then scatter over the rest of the coriander. Serve the sauce separately in small bowls so everyone can pour it over their portion to taste.