INGREDIENTS US
Metric
For the Thai meatballs:
¾ cup cilantro
2 small shallots
¾ cup roughly diced carrots
¼ cup Thai basil leaves, or ⅓ cup Italian basil
½ tbsp ginger, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 lb ground beef, lamb, pork, turkey, or chicken
Red Curry Sauce:
14 oz full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened
1 tbsp Red curry paste, I use Thai Kitchen brand.
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
¼ tsp ground coriander powder
¼ tsp garam masala powder
Serving:
Squeeze Lime juice, to taste
Garnish Fresh cilantro , chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 420F.
In a small food processor, blend cilantro, shallot, carrot, basil, and ginger until they are finely chopped into fine bits. Then add the fish sauce, salt, cumin, and coconut cream. Pulse a few more times to incorporate well. Be careful not to over mix the paste or it might turn watery.
Transfer the herb mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground meat and use you hands to combine them well.
Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Shape the ground meat mixture into 20 meatballs, roughly the size of golf balls. Place the meatballs on top of the parchment with some space between them.
Bake at middle rack for 15 minutes then remove the sheet pan and carefully flip the meatballs and bake 10 minutes further. The meatballs should be cooked through with moist and not drying.
While the meatballs are in the oven, make the sauce. In a medium to large size sauce pot, add the ingredients from coconut milk to garam marsala. Stir together with a wooden spoon. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of tomato soup, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the sauce from the bottom to prevent it from burning. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings if desired, adding more salt, tomato paste, or curry paste for more flavor.
Once the meatballs are done, transfer them from the baking sheet to the saucepan. Gently toss the meatballs in the sauce to coat. Let the meatballs simmer in the sauce over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring gently. Then transfer the sauced meatballs and the sauce to a large casserole dish for serving.
Drizzle with lime juice to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. Serve warm.