Vietnamese Xiu Mai Bun

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt
• 1 1/4 cups water, divided
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup vietnamese fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 14 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cucumber
• 3 carrots
• cilantro (handful)
• 1/4 cup peanuts
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 bunch scallion (green onions)
• sriracha garlic sauce

Recipe

• 1 for the dressing: whisk together vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic and red pepper flakes in small bowl; set aside.
• 2 to make the meatballs, mix the lamb, one tablespoon of sugar, black pepper, soy sauce, minced garlic and salt. form into small meatballs.
• 3 heat a frying pan and brown the meatballs. when they are fully browned, remove from the pan. don't clean out the pan. in the same pan, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup of water. stir to dissolve, then allow it to cook on high without stirring until it becomes very browned and bubbly. this is caramel. add the final 1 cup of water and stir to combine. return the meatballs to the pan and cook in the caramel sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to coat.
• 4 meanwhile, chop the peanuts, cilantro, cucumber, scallions and lettuce. grate the carrots with a box grater.
• 5 place the noodles in large flat bowls first, arrange the meatballs along with the rest of the ingredients around the noodles in the bowl. serve with sriracha.