Ingredients:
Beef balls:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork or chicken
- 4 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2-inch piece ginger or galangal, grated (1/4 tsp ground ginger okay)
- 1/4 cup water
Soup:
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1-inch piece ginger or galangal (left whole)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
Suggested accompaniments:
- 1 pound Chinese cabbage (choy sum or kai lan), washed and cut into 2″ lengths
- 2 carrots, julienned
- chopped cilantro to garnish
Directions:
- Mix all of the beef ball ingredients together with your hands, then transfer to a food processor. Process the meat until bright pink, finely mixed, and somewhat tacky in texture. Stop the processor every minute and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Transfer the meat paste to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight if you’d like.
- Bring a pot of water to boil, then reduce heat until it is gently simmering. Wet your hands, then grab some of the meat in one hand; squeeze the meat through your thumb and index finger, then scoop away the ball with a spoon and gently drop into the water (pictured below). Once the ball starts to float, let it simmer for 2 more minutes then fish it out and place it in a bowl of ice water. Check your first meatball or two to make sure they’re cooked through. Repeat this procedure with all of the meat; it’s easiest if you have someone making the balls while someone else monitors the balls for doneness and fishes them out. Once all of the balls are cooked and in the ice bath, strain and rinse them gently with cold water. At this point, your beef balls are done — enjoy them right away or freeze/refrigerate for later use. If you want to enjoy them immediately, proceed to step 3.
- Spoon out any fat or chunks from the water you used to boil the beef balls — it’s going to be the soup base. Add the beef broth, ginger/galangal, cinnamon stick, black cardamom pods, and whole cloves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry, then fish out the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves (alternatively, you could put them in a tea bag or cheesecloth and pull it out). Add the fish sauce, lime juice, white pepper, and add salt to taste.
- Add the Chinese cabbage and blanch for 30 seconds, then add to the soup bowls. Do the same with the carrots, but blanch them for only 10 seconds. Add the beef balls to the soup and return to a simmer, then scoop the balls and broth into the individual bowls. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
