Xíu Mại — Vietnamese Meatball Banh Mi

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground Pork Shoulder + 1 tbsp fish sauce + 2 cloves garlic + 1 shallot + 1 tsp sugar + black pepper
• Sauce: 1 can tomato sauce + 1 tbsp fish sauce + 1 tsp sugar + 1 scallion
• 3 small baguettes
• Cucumber spears, cilantro, pickled carrots if you have them
• Chili slices

Method

1. Knead the meatball mixture 1 minute until tacky; roll into golf balls.
2. Simmer the sauce ingredients 5 minutes in a wide pan.
3. Nestle the meatballs into the sauce, cover, and braise gently 15 minutes until cooked through (160°F) — poached in tomato, never fried; that's the xíu mại softness.
4. Split the baguettes, hollow slightly.
5. Load with meatballs, crush gently, spoon extra sauce in, and add cucumber, cilantro, pickles, and chili. Saigon's saucier, messier cousin of the classic banh mi — bring napkin backup.