Sous Vide Thai Pork Balls with Noodle Salad

A simple, street food-style dish that delivers in the flavor department. Thai-inspired meatballs are cooked sous vide and then finished in the pan. Serve with a noodle salad and sweet chilli dipping sauce for authentic, delectable flavor. 

Author

Christina Wylie

Christina Wylie is an award-winning writer, author, editor, food stylist, recipe creator, entrepreneur and radio host whose work has been featured in The Times & The Sunday Times, Time Out (Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai), Traveler’s Digest, Fah Thai Magazine, Broadsheet, Wining & Dining and many other internationally renowned publications. In 2013, after almost a decade of working as an international journalist, Christina founded the online lifestyle magazine The GAB Magazine, for which she now leads a team of 60 writers based all across Australia. She then founded Samui Life Magazine in 2016. After working as a recipe creator for Anova Culinary for over a year, she signed a cookbook contract with the American-based, international publishing company Quarto. Her cookbook, titled The Sous Vide Kitchen: Techniques, Ideas, and More Than 100 Recipes to Cook at Home, was published worldwide in 2017. She wrote, styled, and photographed everything that you see within that book. In 2017 she opened her first restaurant, Bootlegger, in Koh Samui, Thailand. She is currently in the initial stages of launching Bootlegger 2 in Phuket in 2018, and is looking to open Bootlegger 3 in Bangkok in 2019. She is currently working towards stepping into the world of food and travel presenting. As an entrepreneur herself, Christina co-founded the charity initiative Project Gen Z in 2015 to teach orphaned Cambodian children entrepreneurial skills. A British expat born and raised in Hong Kong, Christina has worked across the globe, and has lived in Thailand, London, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa over the years.

Prep Time: 00:15

Recipe Time: 02:00

Temperature : 150F / 65.6C

Ingredients

• 2 cups (473 mL) high quality pork mince, formed into approx. 1-inch-wide meatballs
• 2 cups (473 mL) fresh rice noodles
• 1/4 cup (59 mL) beansprouts
• 2 tbs (30 mL) Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbs (30 mL) cilantro, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup (59 mL) peanut oil (to shallow fry the pork balls)
• ¼ cup (59 mL) grated carrots
• 2 tbs (30 mL) sweet chilli sauce
• 1 cup (237 mL) pork mince
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs (15 mL) finely chopped shallots
• 1 tbs (15 mL) lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped
• ¼ cup (59 mL) Thai basil leaves
• 2 tsp (9.8 mL) fish sauce
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 tbs (30 mL) lime juice
• 2 tbs (30 mL) fish sauce
• 1 tsp (5 mL) palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped (you can either deseed both of them, just one, or keep all the seeds in for a real chilli hit!)

Directions

1. Preheat Anova sous vide machine to 150 F (65.5 C).
2. Mix together all of the pork balls ingredients and form into 12 meatballs.
3. Seal meatballs in a bag, put in water bath and set timer to 2 hours.
4. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic, chilli and palm sugar, then add the lime juice and fish sauce.
5. Cook noodles according to the instructions on the packet, then drain with cold water to cool.
6. When they’re finished cooking sous vide, drain the liquid content from the bag, pat the pork balls dry with paper towel, and fry for 1-2 min in hot oil until you get some good colour, then rest on a new sheet of paper towel.
7. Combine the dressing with the noodles and carrots, bean sprouts, cilantro and Thai basil and toss to combine.

Finishing Step