Vietnamese Grilled Pork Patties

Over the summer we don’t watch a lot of television, instead, we enjoy sitting outdoors on our patio and chatting about the day’s events. But since the renovation has finished, we cannot help but want to retire early to our fancy room and enjoy a television show or two before bed. On such an occasion, we were watching America’s Test Kitchen and they made this wonderful dish. Both JT and I were drooling by the end of the show and if it weren’t 10pm, we would have jumped out of bed to make the dish right away. The very next day, I shopped for the ingredients and made a large batch. This makes a lovely light meal or a slightly heavier appetizer or hors d’œuvres. It brings all of the usual flavours of Vietnamese cuisine and it’s so satisfying. The raw patties freeze well and can be grilled frozen because they are small, just make sure the internal temperature reads 155° F (Canada) 160° F (US). Don’t skip marinating the grilled burgers in the sauce, it adds a rich meaty flavour to the sauce and the sauce flavours the meat beautifully.

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Patties

Makes about 20 small slider-sized patties

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 10 mL chili paste
• 10 mL roasted garlic purée
• 10 g sugar
• 15 mL fish sauce (see notes)
• 45 mL freshly squeezed lime juice
• 175 mL hot water

Ingredients for the pork patties:

• 1 large shallot, minced
• 15 mL fish sauce (see notes)
• 2.5 mL baking soda
• 2.5 mL white pepper
• 454 g pound ground pork

Ingredients for the salad for 2-4 people:

• 250 g rice vermicelli
• 1 head Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 English cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and cut into chunks
• a generous handful of fresh cilantro leaves and stems, cut thinly
• a generous handful of fresh mint leaves, cut thinly
• a handful of peanuts, sesame seeds or finely sliced green onions for garnish

Directions:

1. Make the sauce first because it is best if it stands for a few hours. Add all of the ingredients to a heatproof container and combine well until the sugar has entirely dissolved. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Combine the ground pork with all of the ingredients and mix well. Measure out small portions (we wanted them for hors d’œuvres and appetizers, so we did slider-sized patties) and form into firm patties.
3. Grill each patty on a hot grill until sides have caramelized and the centre is 155° F (Canada) or 160° F (US). Directly from the grill, add the patties to the sauce and allow to sit in the sauce for 5-10 minutes turning a few times if they are not entirely immersed.
4. Meanwhile, boil enough water to cover the rice vermicelli and allow to soften to al dente! Strain.
5. To serve, lay the torn Boston lettuce on each plate or a serving platter, scatter the cucumber, cilantro and mint over the leaves. Top the greens with the softened noodles and add the pork patties. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds or finely sliced green onions or all of the above! Drizzle with the sauce and serve remaining sauce on the table.

One of the last meals we had outdoors before September kicked in.

Notes:

• The sauce needs to mellow because it is very limey at the beginning. The meat juices help the sauce mellow out.
• We have reduced the sugar in this recipe by eliminating it from the patties, we found it balanced enough.
• Check the saltiness of your fish sauce, you may need to reduce the quantity so the patties aren’t too salty.