John Torode’s spiced chicken meatballs with noodles, basil & broth
If you find coriander with the roots on, snap it up – the root is the tastiest bit. Chicken mince can be hard to find, ask your butcher, or buy boned thighs and chicken breasts, chop them, then whizz in the food processor. Serves 6 Prep 40 mins Cook 40 mins meatballs only
FOR THE MEATBALLS
1 large onion, roughly chopped thumb-size piece of ginger
1-2 long red chillies, finely chopped
(seeds in or out, you decide)
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 white peppercorns, crushed
20g pack coriander, stalks, roots if you have them and leaves, chopped and kept separate, plus sprigs to finish 50ml milk
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
1kg quality chicken mince
3 tbsp vegetable oil
FOR THE BROTH
1.5 litres chicken stock
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp fish sauce thumb-size piece of ginger, sliced
6 star anise
½ tsp black peppercorns
8 spring onions, thinly sliced
300g pack egg noodles, cooked sliced red chillies, to taste (optional) small bunch of basil, leaves picked
1 Whizz the onion, ginger, chillies, garlic, white pepper and half of the coriander stalks, roots (if using) and leaves in a food processor until finely chopped. Mix the milk and breadcrumbs together in a large bowl. Add the onion mix and chicken to the breadcrumbs, then season. Now, really mix well until the whole thing becomes a paste rather than lumpy. If you have a tabletop mixer, then use that instead of your hands. Shape into small balls around the size of a 50p piece. Put a large frying pan or flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat, add a drizzle of oil then fry the balls until well coloured; about 10 mins. You’ll need to do this in batches, adding more oil each time. Set aside.
2 For the broth, put the stock into a large pan, bring to the boil, then simmer. Add the sesame oil, fish sauce, ginger, remaining coriander stalks and roots, star anise and peppercorns. Simmer, covered, for 20 mins. Add the spring onions, noodles and chillies, if using. Take six large bowls, then divide the noodles between them. Drop in the warm meatballs then ladle in the stock. Scatter with coriander and basil leaves to serve.
PER SERVING 536 kcals, fat 16g, saturates 3g,
carbs 54g, sugars 4g, fibre 2g, protein 48g, salt 4.7g