Lemongrass Pork Meatballs + Zucchini Noodles

About

This dish is so flavorful! I love how citrusy the lemongrass is in the meatballs and how well the saltiness of the meatballs pairs with the crispy zucchini noodles. The whole dish is topped with fresh mint, basil and cilantro that makes the whole dish come together! Then it is drizzled with a spicy, garlic-lime fish sauce. The spice makes it so addicting!! You’ll love this dish!

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon avocado oil
4 tbsp, chopped shallots
3 piece, whole shiitake mushrooms
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ pound ground pork
⅓ cup lemon grass (citronella), raw
¼ cup cilantro
2 ½ tablespoon fish sauce (bagoong)
¼ teaspoon spices pepper white
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon avocado oil
4 cup, sliced zucchini noodles
1 teaspoon avocado oil
2 tablespoon lime juice raw
2 tablespoon fish sauce (bagoong)
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon green chili peppers
⅛ small (5-1/2 in. long) carrots
¼ cup basil
¼ cup cilantro
¼ cup spearmint fresh mint
½ small (6-3/8 in. long) cucumber

Instructions

Cut zucchini with a spiralizer to make fine noodles. Place noodles on a paper towel lined baking sheet, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. This will help the water in the noodles to release. Place more paper towels on top and another baking sheet. Weigh the baking sheet down with a pan to squeeze water out of noodles.
Place small saute pan on medium high heat. Add oil. Saute chopped shallots, lemongrass, garlic and diced shiitakes together in a pan until browned about 2 minutes. Add ¼ t kosher salt and combine. Add ground pork to a large mixing bowl and pour sauteed shallot mixture on top. Add chopped cilantro, white pepper, black pepper and fish sauce to the ground pork. Mix very well.
Scoop into 1 ¾” balls about 1 oz each. You should have 25 balls.
Preheat an oven to 350 F. In a large saute pan, add 2 t oil and heat until very hot. Add meatballs into the pan, making sure they do not touch. Cook on one side until nicely browned about 2-3 minutes. Flip and repeat on 1-2 more sides until evenly browned. Bake meatballs in the oven until cooked through about 10-12 minutes.
To make the dressing, combine 2 T lime juice and 2 T fish sauce together with 1 clove minced garlic and ½ Thai chili sliced.
Heat medium saute pan over medium high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil. Add in zucchini noodles and saute until just barely cooked. You still want them crunchy, but cook the rawness out of them. Divide into four bowls. Evenly divide meatballs into the bowls. Top with a few pieces of carrot shaved with a veggie peeler, sliced cucumber, Thai basil, mint and cilantro! Drizzle with a little dressing as needed to spice it up!