Vietnamese chicken balls

It was during my recent move that I made a promise. I had been trying really hard to get rid of a lot of kitchen paraphernalia both before packing and after, and I did manage to make a few charity shops in the vicinity very happy. But there were some items that clearly did fit the rule that I would bin anything I hadn't used in the last year or so, but that I still decided to keep: the deep-fryer is one of them. So I came up with an additional clause: if you haven't used it in the last year, but cannot part with it for whatever reason, then you have to use it within the next two months, and at least twice a year thereafter, otherwise it's gotta go.
Who'd have thought that I would get emotionally attached to a deep-fryer, given that I am not that big on the frying front... I don't even appreciate fried food elsewhere that much, the occasional fries at a restaurant maybe, but I am not a regular at my local chippy either. I guess there's a bit of nostalgia involved. The deep-fryer was one of the first things I bought after moving in with my (now) husband (now, how romantic is that!), because we were in love with the "pimientos de padrón" we always ordered at Aioli, which was a great tapas bar cum deli in Vienna. Never mind that I discovered shortly after that these little green chillies taste much better just sprinkled with olive oil and grilled in the oven...
After a couple of weeks of settling into the new house, it was time to fulfill my promise and get frying! I had a few friends round for an evening of playing games and decided to make various plates of fingerfood so we would be able to nibble stuff without interrupting the game. These chicken balls were the perfect solution for my frying ambitions - but you don't necessarily need a deep-fryer to make them, a deep pan works just as well. They're incredibly easy to make and very tasty: copious amounts of garlic, coriander, lemongrass and chilli and served with a tangy fish sauce... very delicious. I also made them for Jeanne's birthday bash a few weeks ago and they went down a treat!
So, deep-frying has ticked one of many boxes... I have since made smoothies in the blender, pressed fresh orange juice with my kitchen aid, had a cosy evening around the raclette grill, made a gratin dauphinois using the mandoline, but I still have to get round to making a loaf with the bread maker, dust off the pasta machine and find a good recipe for espuma to use the ISI gourmet whip... don't worry, no spanking of cooks involved, this is 100% PG!

Vietnamese chicken balls
(yields ca. 40 balls)

600 g chicken breast
4 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 shallot (finely chopped)
2 stalks lemongrass (finely chopped)
1 tbsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 egg (beaten)
100 g flour
2 heaped tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped red chilli
pepper
bread-crumbs for rolling
groundnut oil for frying

For the dipping sauce:
1 red chilli (ca. 1 tbsp chopped)
100 ml rice vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 spring onion (finely sliced)
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Clean the chicken breasts thoroughly and cut them into tiny dice. Mix with the rest of the ingredients, then leave to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Form little balls, shaping them in the palm of your hand, as firmly as you can. Roll them in the breadcrumbs, making sure they're nice and round.
Prepare the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a thick-based, non-stick pan and heat until the sugar is dissolved.
If using a deep-fryer, heat oil to instructions. If using a pan, make sure you heat up enough oil for the balls to be submerged (ca. 4-5 cm high). When the oil is hot, fry the chicken balls in batches, for 8-10 minutes at a time, until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on some kitchen towel.
(You can prepare them in advance and re-heat them in the oven later, in which case 5 minutes frying time is enough.)
Serve on a plate with the sauce in a shallow bowl, and toothpicks for dipping.

Comments

[Dianka]

Wow, these chicken balls look amazing! I'm not much into fried foods but this looks so light and fresh!

~Dianka
http://na-zdravi.blogspot.com/

[Tanna]

I've always wanted a deep fryer. My son has one and is now in Vietnam. Maybe when he returns I can interest him in these. They look lush! Thanks!

[johanna]

yeah, I never thought I would buy one, either. Tanna, when your son returns, I'd be interested to hear if these are even remotely Vietnamese, I just called them that because the sauce is something that features in my one Vietnamese cookbok...

[shaz]

yummy! they look gorgeous! i made green mango salad the other day and it tasted of sunshine and spring!

[melissa_cookingdiva]

Wow! They look amazing :) AND, I totally agree with you: if it has not been used in a year, it is time to give it away and make someone happy :)

Happy Easter,
M

[Pille]

Another great fingerfood! Any chance they would be also availabe early May? :)

[pieman]

No. Never seen anything like this in Vietnam. Add a chicken foot to the nugget and maybe... You can get chicken 'zinger' nuggets at KFC in Saigon. That's about as close as I've seen.

[johanna]

they definitely will, pille! i'll cook whatever you fancy when you come visit, so if you'd like chicken balls, chicken balls it is!!

[ecobabe]

Lovely recipe, I will add some mint and some chopped chilli to the chicken mince mix to make it a bit more 'vietnamese' and let you know how we go, I'm planning no making them for dinner! I'l be deep frying in my wok as I don't have a deep fryer either.

[ecobabe]

oh and btw, lovely to see you back and in such fine form Johanna xx jayne

[Pamela]

Those look really delicious, my stomach is now rumbling ;-)

[ecobabe]

I ended up making chicken larb because at the last minute I realised I didn't have any oil for deep frying. So will have to try this recipe some other time :( Thanks for the inspiration.

[Maggie]

Hi Johanna,

I've been reading your fantastic blog for quite a while now and just had to let you know I made these and how much I (everyone) enjoyed them - they are perfect finger food - light, tasty and very moreish! Thanks for posting, and I'm sure I'll be trying a lot more of your recipes.

[HanoiMark]

This looks good enough, but my question: Is this a bona fide Vietnamese dish or just Vietnamese-like? Like Pieman I've never seen anything like this in my time in Vietnam. "Vietnamese" gets slung around a lot these days but I'm not sure it always means a whole lot. Maybe it's code for: "throw in lemongrass and/or coriander, shallots, fish sauce. Anyway, I could be wrong. Maybe it's something regional.