Vietnamese beef balls with fresh noodles

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Cook noodles in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Drain, rinse and set aside.

2. Grate or julienne carrots. Rinse and thinly shred lettuce. Pick coriander leaves and chop stems. Keep separate.

3. Combine beef mince, coriander stems and crushed garlic cloves together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into 16 even-sized meatballs.

4. Heat a frypan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp oil. Cook meatballs for 6-8 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.

5. Peel and grate ginger. Combine with lime zest and juice, chilli relish and 2 tbsp oil. Rinse noodles with cold water to separate before tossing with dressing until coated. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Divide noodles and meatballs between bowls. Garnish with prepared salad and bean shoots to serve.

Notes:
Soy sauce (or even fish sauce) works well in the meatball mixture instead of salt.

rice stick noodles 1 packet (375g)

carrots 2
baby cos lettuce 1
coriander 1 packet

beef mince 600g

garlic 2 cloves
ginger 30g
lime 1
sweet chilli relish 2 tbsp

bean shoots 1/2 bag (125g)

From your pantry:
oil (for cooking), salt, pepper