Bo vien chien sot nuoc mam lives or dies on the glaze clinging to each freshly fried beef ball. The outside turns crisp and golden while the center stays juicy. The salty sweet sauce reduces until it coats every ball.
Scoring a cross into the top of each ball before frying opens a path for the sauce to travel inside instead of sitting on the surface. The common mistake is cooking the sauce over high heat, where it dries out and scorches on the base of the pan before it can coat anything.
This batch weighs about 298g, at roughly 550 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel 20g garlic, mince it with 10g chili, then pound the two together until very fine.
Stir 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend into the pounded garlic and chili until evenly worked through.
Mix the sauce: whisk 1 tablespoon chili sauce, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1/4 tablespoon MSG and 1/4 tablespoon black pepper together with part of the pounded garlic and chili.
Thaw 200g beef balls, rinse them clean, then score a cross into the top of each one.
Heat enough oil to cover the beef balls, fry them until evenly golden, then lift them out to drain.
Add 1 tablespoon cooking oil to a pan and fry the remaining garlic and chili until fragrant.
Add the beef balls and the sauce, then toss over low heat until the sauce turns glossy and coats every ball.
Tips
A cross scored about 2mm deep is enough. Any deeper and the beef balls break apart in the oil.
Stirring kOBE Monk Fruit Blend into the pounded garlic and chili binds the mixture so it clings evenly in the pan.
Deep frying over medium heat gives an even golden crust while the center stays moist.
The beef balls need to drain thoroughly on a rack before they go into the sauce, otherwise the sauce slides off.
Take the pan off the heat as soon as the sauce turns glossy. Cooked longer, it turns sharply salty.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.