Thai chicken meatball salad

Ingredients

• 1 stick lemongrass
• 3 cloves garlic
• small piece ginger
• 2 bird’s eye chillies
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tbsp sugar
• salt
• 500g chicken mince (1.1 lbs)
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 packet vermicelli noodles
• 1 long red chilli, finely diced
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 spring onions, whites only, thinly sliced
• 1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
• small handful mint
• handful coriander
• handful Thai basil (or sweet basil)

Directions

1. Grate 1/4 stick of lemongrass into a mortar and pestle. Add a small piece of grated ginger and 2 grated cloves of garlic. Add 2 bird’s eye chillies and 2 finely sliced kaffir lime leaves. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pound everything in the mortar and pestle until you get a fine paste.
2. Add the paste to the chicken mince along with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. Mix well until you have a homogenous mixture with the flavours well distributed.
3. Use some oil to grease your hands and an oven tray. Roll the chicken mixture into balls slightly smaller than golf balls and place them onto the greased oven tray.
4. Grill the chicken meatballs in your oven with the grill function set to hot for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through, ensuring the chicken is fully cooked before removing. Once cooked, set aside.
5. Pour boiling water over the noodles and set aside for 5 minutes. Once cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop further cooking.
6. To make the dressing, grate a small piece of ginger and 2 cloves of garlic into a small jar. Add finely sliced red chilli, the juice of 2 limes, about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Mix well by putting the lid on and shaking the jar, then set aside.
7. To assemble the salad, add the cooked and drained vermicelli noodles to a bowl along with sliced cucumber, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced spring onions, sliced red cabbage, carrot ribbons, and torn basil, mint, and coriander. Dress well with the dressing you made and mix thoroughly with clean hands, ensuring everything is well combined.
8. Add some of the vermicelli and vegetable salad to a plate and top with a few of the chicken meatballs.