Fragrant Pork Meatball Noodle Soup

Serves 2

Takes 1 hour 30 minutes

Soup season has returned, along with the cooler weather and the need for warm, comforting food that nourishes the soul is yearned for. This Asian inspired noodle broth with fragrant pork meatballs, truly is a hug in a bowl. Pork mince is incredibly versatile and lends itself to Asian flavours fabulously and once you have your collection of spices and seasonings, you can really get creative. Although the list seems long, the method for this recipe really is very simple and worth it for that cosy bowl of goodness you have been craving.

1. Begin by pouring the beef stock into a large pot and set on a low heat, add in the ginger, lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, birds eye chillies, palm sugar, both soy sauces, rice wine vinegar, Shaoxing rice wine, fish sauce, lime juice and salt, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Pop on lid and allow to infuse whilst you make the meatballs.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs except the sesame oil, using your hands, mix well until it becomes a paste-like consistency. Dampen your hands a little with water and begin taking a small amount of the mixture into your palms and roll between both hands to form a ball the size of a ping pong ball. Do this with all the pork mix. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to help them firm up.
3. Remove your meatballs from the fridge and set a frying pan on a medium heat with the 2 tbsp sesame oil.
4. Place in the meatballs and fry to brown all sides, you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan as this will being to steam the meatballs, you want them to fry and get a good colour. Remove and go again with the next batch if needed.
5. Lift the lid from the broth and using a slotted spoon, remove all of the aromatics as best you can (if there are a few remaining, its fine) and discard.
6. Carefully drop the meatballs into the fragrant broth and turn the heat up to medium. Allow them to cook through for 15 minutes.
7. Whilst they are cooking, set a skillet or griddle pan on a high heat, brush the halved pak choy with a little oil and once the pan is smoking, place into the pan cut side down. Cook for 6 minutes until they have those lovely char marks. Flip and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. Set aside to add to the soup later.
8. Add this stage, add in the mushrooms and noodles, cook for 6 minutes until the noodles have softened but still have a slight bite.
9. Time to plate up, using tongs grab a portion of the noodles and place into each bowl along with the charred pak choy. Ladle the fragrant broth, meatballs and mushrooms over the noodles, you want it quite soupy so be generous with that broth. Garnish with the halved boiled eggs, Thai holy basil, chilli slices, chilli oil and sesame seeds. Snuggle down with some chopsticks and a spoon and enjoy!

For the broth:

• 1 Litre good quality beef stock (we use TRUE foods beef stock)
• 2cm knob of ginger, skin on, roughly sliced
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised to release the oils and fragrance
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, bruised to release the oils and fragrance
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 green birds eye chillies, sliced in half
• 2 tsp palm sugar
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 150g mushrooms (we used enoki but any kind will do)
• 1 pak choy, halved
• 225g rice noodles
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 lime, cut into wedges for garnish
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced for garnish
• Chilli oil, for drizzling (optional)
• Handful of Thai holy basil, for garnish (alternatively you can use coriander)
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

For the meatballs:

• 500g pork mince
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp lemongrass paste
• 2 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp MSG (optional)
• 3 spring onions, thinly chopped
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 50g panko breadcrumbs
• 1 heaped tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp sesame oil