Banh mi, Pork meatballs

With pickled carrot.

Banh mi is a Vietnamese term for bread or baguette that is filled with meat, salads, herbs and pickles.

This recipe is one I have been cooking for years but I originally picked it up from Bill Granger, who sadly passed away recently. I love cooking from Bill’s recipes as they are always very approachable.

I like to prepare everything in advance then pop to the pub, when we get back I can cook the meatballs on the BBQ. The weather in the UK right now is not particularly favourable so a frying pan will do the job just as well.

Even if you don’t make the banh mi, I recommend making the pickled carrot to serve with other dishes. It is very easy to do and unlike many pickles they only need to be marinated for about 20 minutes before eating.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g pork mince

3 garlic cloves, grated

1 tbsp root ginger, grated

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Roll the mix into bite-size balls - I have a tool I use for this, it’s actually meant for falafel but works brilliantly to make little meat balls.

Heat a large frying pan with 4 tbsp vegetable oil and cook the meatballs for about 5 minutes, moving around to ensure they are cooked evenly.

To serve

1 French baguette or 4 submarine rolls

Vietnamese food is always heavy on the herbs, so include lots of chopped coriander and mint.

Lettuce, chopped

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 red and 1 green chilli, deseeded and sliced

Chilli & garlic mayo - Combine 2 tbsp mayonnaise with 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce and 1 grated garlic clove.

Pickled carrot

1 large carrot, finely julienned - I use a lemon zester, this one cuts beautiful ribbons.

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

3 tsp caster sugar

Combine all the ingredients, cover and leave for at least 20 minutes.