Happy Vietnamese Lunar New Year 2023… year of the Cat!
The Lunar New Year (Tết) is the biggest holiday in Vietnam. Did you know that Tết has the same cultural gravitas as Christmas and New Year does here in the United States.
As always, we’d like to celebrate our Vietnamese clients and colleagues with a recipe. This recipe has been submitted by Ulli Angeloni at MB head office. Ulli is a big fan of South East Asian cuisine and lived in Vietnam for several years. She also initiated the Metabolic Balance program’s translation into Vietnamese alongside Health Coach Trần Lan Hương.
This dish (nem lui hue) uses stalks of lemongrass to impart a mild lemongrass aroma to the meat. Its fibrous stalks double perfectly as skewers.
Simply barbeque the skewers or fry them with coconut oil in a pan.
Vietnamese food is always well paired with fresh and bright salad leaves and herbs like mint and cilantro.
Skewer ingredients:
1 pound of ground pork or chicken
1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon of finely minced shallot
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
12-15 stalks of lemongrass
Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except the lemongrass stalks) in a bowl and mix with your hands or a fork to combine. Cover and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or overnight), allowing the flavours to develop.
Peel the outer layer of the lemongrass stalks. Rinse in water and dry.
Take one handful of the ground mixture and wrap it around the end of the lemongrass stalk, gently pressing and moulding the meat around the stalk. Repeat with the remaining meat and place on a baking sheet.
Grill over coals or gas grill for about 6-10 minutes until cooked through. Make sure to rub the grill with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil to ensure your skewers don’t stick to the grate.
Enjoy!
*This recipe is adjusted to be compatible for Metabolic Balance participants in Phase 2.*
Don’t forget to tag Health Coach Trần lan hương when posting
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