Ingredients
- SKEWERS-
- 500g Pork mince
- 1 Tbls fish sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbls Vietnamese caramel + 1 Tbls extra. (sub maple syrup if you can't find any)
- 3 Cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Shallots, minced
- 2 lemongrass stalks, peeled and minced, white parts only
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 Lemongrass stalks, about 12-15 cm long (woody ends work well)
- Oil for frying
- NUOC CHAM-
- 2 Tbls fish sauce
- 2 Tbls sugar
- 2 Tbls boiling water
- 2 Tbls lime juice, (about 1 lime)
- 3 Cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Hot red bird's eye chillies, minced
- GREEN SALAD-
- 2 Tbls sugar
- 2 Tbls fish sauce
- 2 Tbls Lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1 Tbls boiling water
- 1 Clove garlic, minced
- 1 Bird's eye chilli, minced
- 1 Medium cucumber, diced
- 1 Cup green beans, blanched and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- Handful of mixed lettuce leaves, torn
- Handful of cilantro, leaves only
- 1 Shallot, thinly sliced
- TO SERVE-
- Lime wedges
- Cracked black pepper
- Chilli, thinly sliced
Method
- If using a BBQ, heat it up to 200C.
- Mix together 1 Tbls of Vietnamese caramel with 1 Tbls neutral oil and set aside, this is the glaze for your skewers.
- In a large bowl mix together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of the Vietnamese caramel, garlic, shallots and minced lemongrass. Season with salt and pepper. Add the pork mince and using your hands, massage the ingredients through the mince until evenly combined, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
- To prepare your Nuoc Cham, place the sugar and boiling water in a small jug and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the fish sauce, garlic, chillies and lime juice and set aside for the flavours to develop.
- To prepare your salad dressing combine sugar with the boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chilli and set aside.
- Evenly divide your pork mixture into 6 even portions. Take one of the lemongrass stalks and mould one portion of the meat around it to form a log, leaving the ends of the stalk poking out. Repeat with the other stalks.
- Baste the pork skewers with the glaze prepared earlier (Vietnamese caramel and oil mix) and place on the BBQ grill. Cook turning every minute or two until browned and cooked through. This should take about 10 minutes. You can cook the skewers in a pan using the same method as above. They may take a few minutes longer to cook through.
- In a medium bowl combine the cucumber, lettuce, cilantro, sliced shallots and beans. Drizzle over the dressing and toss to combine.
- TO SERVE-
- Place 3 pork skewers on each plate with a dipping bowl of the Nuoc Cham and some extra lime wedges. Garnish with sliced chilli and cracked pepper. Serve with the salad on the side.
- NOTES-
- Vietnamese caramel can be hard to find but its definitely worth searching for as it adds an extra layer to the flavour profile.
- A charcoal BBQ really gives the best flavour if you have one. If you don't it will still be delicious, it just wont have that smoky flavour.
Product used in recipe
- LEE KUM KEE - LKK PANDA OYSTER SAUCE 255G
