Pork And Shrimp Balls With Sweet And Spicy Dipping Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Rujak is a spicy mixed fruit salad found throughout Indonesia. Here I puree it to make a sweet and spicy sauce for meatballs.
• For the meatballs: Add the shrimp, onions, ginger, garlic, peppers and pork to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the egg, tamari, cilantro, lime zest and juice and mix together until well combined. Form the mixture into balls using a disher (scoop). Heat the oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the balls until a good crust forms, before turning, about 2 minutes.
• For the sauce: Add all of the fruit to a food processor and quickly pulse. Add the sugar, tamarind and red pepper flakes and puree until the mixture becomes a thick sauce.
• Put a little of the sauce into a serving bowl and top with the meatballs. Serve with bowls of sauce on the side, and a container of toothpicks.

Steps:

• 1. TO MAKE THE SAUCE: In a small saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and stir until boiling and lightly thickened. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the chili rounds. Let stand for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. (The sauce can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead of serving and kept at room temperature.) 2. TO MAKE THE PORK AND SHRIMP BALLS: Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a food processor, pulse the shrimp until it forms a paste. Add the pork, cilantro, fish sauce, ginger, chili, and garlic. Pulse until combined. Using a heaping tablespoonful for each, form the paste into 1-inch balls and place on the waxed paper. (The balls can be covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.) 3. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a jelly roll pan with paper towels. In a deep Dutch oven, melt shortening over high heat to a depth of 2 inches and heat it to 365°F. 4. Place the cornstarch in a deep plate and roll the balls in the cornstarch to coat them evenly. In batches, without crowding, deep-fry the balls until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, transfer the balls to the paper towels to drain. Keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining balls. Serve the hot pork and shrimp balls with the lettuce leaves, so guests can wrap the balls in the leaves and dip the packet into the sauce.

Steps:

• Stir the vinegar and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely, 7 to 10 minutes; add the salt, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir the chili garlic sauce into the mixture. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor combine the scallions, half of the ginger - grated or minced, half of the chopped chile pepper, garlic, 3 tablespoons tamari, cilantro and the lime zest. Pulse for 30 seconds, scrape down the bowl and then continue to process 1 minute or until finely ground. Add the shrimp and pork, process until the shrimp are ground into small pieces and the mixture is well combined but not so fine that it becomes a paste, about 1 minute. Roll the shrimp and pork mixture into to 24 balls, about the size of a large walnut. If you dip your hands in water before rolling the mixture the rolling goes a little easier.
• Preheat a large nonstick skillet with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the balls and don't move them until they are brown on 1 side, about 2 minutes. Turn the balls and continue to cook, browning on all sides until cooked through, about 4 minutes.
• While the balls are cooking make the spicy lime dipping sauce: in a bowl combine the remaining ginger, chili pepper, 1/2 cup tamari, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, honey and 3 tablespoons (a splash) of water. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if you find it to be too salty, add another drizzle of honey.
• Platter the shrimp and pork balls with a bowl of the spicy lime dipping sauce and toothpicks.