Zesty lemon grass chicken balls

I am really into lemon grass at the moment.  I love the fresh and zesty flavour it gives to any dish, and the fragrance when you cut it up, so good.   I'm finding myself scanning recipes and menus for lemon grass to try to get my fix.

Don't be scared to use lemon grass.  You can find it at any supermarket or green grocer.  It is much cheaper at my fruit and vegetable shop compared to Woolworths or Coles.  You only use the bottom white part in most dishes and it doesn't need any special preparation.  Just finely slice and chop.

If you can't find fresh lemon grass you can (and I have) use the lemon grass paste that you can find in the fresh produce refrigerator at the supermarket.  You use two tablespoons as the equivalent for one stem.

I sometimes make these as chicken burgers, other times I make them smaller and serve them as an appetizer with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

I made these slightly bigger and served them with noodles and vegetables.

Lemongrass Chicken Meatballs

slightly adapted from Bill Granger's Thai Chicken Burgers

Yield: 20 small balls

Ingredients

• 600g chicken breast mince
• 80g dried breadcrumbs
• 1 onion, grated
• 1 lemongrass stem (white part only) finely chopped or 2 tbsp fresh lemongrass paste
• zest of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• small bunch of green herbs (I used parsley)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cooking Directions

1. Combine chicken mince, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, lemon grass, parsley, fish sauce and caster sugar in large bowl. Mix well with hands and roll into small balls. 
2. Heat oil in fry pan and cook chicken balls over medium heat until golden.
3. Serve with dipping sauce as a appetizer or with noodles and vegetables to make a more complete meal.

Do you prefer beef or chicken meatballs?

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Keep smiling

Dani