Asian Pork Meatballs (Vietnamese-Inspired)

These sweet and savory Asian pork meatballs are a family favorite at my house. Lemongrass, sriracha, hoisin and rice wine vinegar add in a lovely flavor combo. If you substitute tamari for soy sauce, this recipe is gluten-free! I love making these Vietnamese meatballs for meal prep because they reheat really well.

Asian food has to be my all-time favorite cuisine, which probably doesn’t come as a surprise as you’ll find many recipes inspired by our trips across Asia in this blog. Indian, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai are probably my absolute favorites.

This Asian pork meatball recipe is inspired by the delicious flavors found in my favorite Vietnamese dishes. If you’ve ever tasted a sweet and savory lemongrass pork, or drizzled hoisin and sriracha onto a steaming bowl of pho, you know what I’m talking about. DELICIOUS.

If you’ve never cooked with fresh lemongrass before, here’s some helpful info on how to prep:

You’ll want to start by removing the tough outer layers, and cutting off the woody bottom.

Next, you’ll want to bruise the lemongrass to really bring out the flavor. I like to use a small kitchen mallet but you can use a rolling pin to gently smash the stalks.

And then you’ll want to mince the lemongrass very finely. At this point, your entire kitchen will be smelling SO GOOD. True story, as I was preparing the lemongrass for my Asian pork meatballs, my 10-year old wandered into the kitchen to ask me what smelled so good!

Vietnamese Meatballs Recipe Notes:

You’ll notice that I don’t use egg or any sort of bread / bread crumb in this recipe. That’s not a mistake – pork is tender and doesn’t really need added binders.

This recipe for Asian pork meatballs is pretty simple – you’ll want to finely mince your garlic, ginger, lemongrass, onion and scallions, and add it to your lean ground pork. I add in a bit of soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar for seasoning and then gently mix together.

Don’t over-mix your meat mixture as this will cause the Asian pork meatballs to become tough and dry. As soon as everything is mostly incorporated, you’re good to go.

Confession time: I’m a little weird about touching raw meat. So I always delegate the portioning and forming of meatballs to my husband. And because he’s Type-A, he’s quite precise about this part.

He prefers using a small cookie scoop to portion the meat for the Asian pork meatballs, and then he weighs it on our food scale to ensure it’s exactly the same size. (Which is helpful when you’re tracking macros and meal-prepping!)

For this recipe, we got 15 meatballs, each weighing 38g.

Next, you’ll want to cook your Vietnamese meatballs. I like to use an air fryer to do this. I have a LARGE, toaster oven style air fryer and so I’m able to spread them out on a sheet pan and air fry. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can roast in your oven, or even pan fry your Asian pork meatballs.

My preference is to always air fry meatballs because they get a delicious caramelized exterior and remain juicy inside!

While the Asian pork meatballs are done cooking, you can whip up your sticky spicy-sweet glaze.

Mix together sriracha, sesame oil, hoisin, soy sauce, water and cornstarch until smooth and pour into a pan set on medium-high heat. Add in your ground pork meatballs. Then, simmer for a few minutes or until the sauce thickens and starts to stick to your meatballs.

Serve over rice (or cauliflower rice) and a side of steamed broccoli. Top with black sesame seeds if desired.

If you loved making homemade meatballs in the air fryer, please check out my easy Greek chicken meatballs and potatoes recipe for a different spin on meatballs!