Vietnamese meatball subs

We love banh mi, and are lucky enough to have several very good Vietnamese delis nearby. But they aren't often available for dinner, so it's nice being able to have them at home any time we want.

These are not super authentic, but they are tasty and fast to make and made with easy to find ingredients. A good weeknight meal.

Preheat the oven to 375F, convection if you have it.

This is a bit more than a pound of ground pork (600g). 1 small bunch of green onions, chopped.

5 cloves of garlic.

Minced.

Fish sauce and hoisin sauce. 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce. 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Mix into meat. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch and mix again.

This is the basic meatball mix, but it's very adaptable. No green onion? Use minced regular onion instead. I sometimes add chopped water chestnuts for crunch, but I didn't have any tonight. Adjust the hoisin/fish sauce ratio to your taste. No hoisin? Use oyster sauce + sugar. As long as you have a ton of garlic and some form of onion and salt, it will taste good. 

Form into meatballs onto a cookie sheet. Bake.

These will take about 20 minutes to cook. Meanwhile, prepare the veggies. Slice a cucumber into planks. I partially peel the cucumber, but that's optional.

Now mix the 'pickle' brine. I used lemon juice here, but I much prefer lime juice, or white vinegar if I don't have lime. Lemon is all I had today, though. 

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice, 2 tablespoons warm water (warm so that the sugar dissolves). Stir in 4 teaspoons of sugar. Taste. It should taste like fairly strong, tart limeade. Adjust the sugar or water as necessary. Then add 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce. Taste again and add fish sauce until you like the salt level. 

Now, in a shallow bowl, dump in a layer of matchstick carrots. Usually I cut these myself, but I found pre-cut matchsticks at the grocery yesterday so I grabbed them. 

Pour on half the pickling liquid.

Put the cucumber slices on top, and pour on the rest of the liquid.

The meatballs should be ready now. Go ahead and break one open to check for doneness if you're not confident enough just poking them. You're going to break them apart for the sandwich anyways.

Toast some crusty white buns. Or some baguette. The cheaper the better. Vietnamese baguette is lighter and fluffier than French style, so the cheap stuff is better for this application.

Spread both bun halves with mayo.

Add your meatballs, broken apart to make a nice layer.

Add some carrots.

And cucumber.

And cilantro. Sliced fresh jalapenos or serrano chiles if you have them. I didn't.

And enjoy!

Vietnamese style Meatball Sandwiches

Meatballs
600g (@1.25 lbs) ground pork
5 cloves garlic
1 small bunch green onions
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Mince garlic and slice green onions. Mix all ingredients together and shape into small balls. Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.

"Pickling" brine
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons warm water
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 Tablespoon fish sauce

Pour over sliced cucumber and matchstick cut carrots. Marinate 15 minutes to overnight.