Beef Meatballs (Vietnamese) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Meatballs:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 green chile pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
Sauce:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 Thai chile pepper, finely chopped (optional)

Preparation

Combine ground beef, onion, cilantro, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, honey, and chile pepper in a food processor and blend until mixed and minced. Transfer to a bowl. Coat fingers and palms lightly with oil and scoop tablespoons of beef mixture to create equal-sized meatballs and place them on a plate.
Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Add meatballs; cover and cook 5 minutes. Turn meatballs over, cover pan, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, fish sauce, and chile pepper in a bowl and serve with meatballs. Pour over meatballs or use as a dipping sauce.