Asian Noodle Bowl with Meatballs

What I crave in this sweltering heat is a room temperature or cold meal. The thought of eating a curry or anything with masala is off putting right now. So a cold noodle and salad bowl is just the ticket.

Cold thin noodles form a base. Marinate the meat while you make the pickled carrots and nuoc cham. Once everything is ready the salad bowl comes together easily. Sliced cucumber, marinated carrots, chopped romaine, fried onions, handfuls of Thai basil and mint make a fresh and crunchy salad topping. The meat eater is satisfied with small spiced  meatballs. Shallow fry the meat balls in the end as they make a delicious warm contrast to the cool noodles and salad. Lastly, the bowl is drenched in nuoc cham, a tangy sauce laden with chiles and garlic. Chopsticks and a hearty appetite is all you need!

ASIAN NOODLE BOWLWITH MEATBALLS

Serves 2

Meatballs

1/4 pound ground Beef

1 Shallot

2 Garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice powder

1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Molasses

1 teaspoon Chile Garlic Paste

1 tablespoon Canola Oil

Pickled Carrots

3 Carrots

1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar 

Nuoc Cham

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Lime, juiced

1/4 cup warm Water

2 tablespoons Fish sauce

1 green Chile, thinly sliced

1 Garlic clove, minced

3 -4 cups cooked thin Angel Hair Pasta or Rice Noodles 

1/2 English Cucumber, thinly sliced

2 Romaine Leaves, chopped

1/2 cup Thai Basil leaves

1/2 cup Mint leaves

Fried Onions

Start meatballs by placing the beef in a bowl.

Make a rough paste with shallot, garlic and sugar by pounding it in a mortar and pestle. Add paste to beef. 

Add five spice powder, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, molasses and chile garlic paste to beef. Mix well and keep aside.

Fry meatballs just before serving. Form meat into two inch flat discs. 

Heat oil in a nonstick saucepan, Fry meat balls till brown on both sides.

Make pickled carrots by chopping them into thin matchsticks. Season with the 1/4  tsp sugar and salt. Massage them well and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then rinse them well. 

Make a dressing by mixing remaining sugar, lime juice and rice wine vinegar. Add carrots to dressing and keep aside.

Make nuoc cham by mixing sugar, lime juice, warm water and fish sauce. Add sliced chiles and garlic to sauce. Keep aside. 

Assemble bowls by mounding noodles in two bowls. 

Arrange cucumber, lettuce,carrots and fried onions over noodles. 

Scatter Thai basil and mint over noodles. 

Nestle meatballs on top of noodles. 

Spoon nuoc cham over noodles and dig in.

This makes the ideal meal on a warm sweaty day... takes me right back to snacking on Hanoi streets. 

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