Go Back
+ servings
Lemongrass Pork Skewer with fresh veggies and sticky rice

Lemongrass Pork Skewers

Tasty pork patties with the best mix of aromatics including lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallot and fish sauce
Print Pin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Allison Jones

Ingredients

Flavour paste

  • 6 lemongrass stalks (white parts only)
  • 2 teaspoons ginger (finely grated)
  • 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
  • 1 eschalot (French shallot - finely minced)
  • 6 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 4 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cooking salt
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper

Skewers

  • 1 kilogram (2 pounds) pork mince or chicken mince (ground pork or ground chicken)
  • cooking oil

Dipping sauce

  • 4 red bird's eye chillies thinly sliced
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 3 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice

To serve

  • 1 bunch butter lettuce
  • 2 telegraph cucumbers
  • ½ red cabbage (shredded finely)
  • 2 tablespoons roasted and crushed cashews or peanuts
  • 4 lime wedges or cheeks
  • sticky rice

Instructions

Flavour paste

  • Prepare the ingredients as described. Lemongrass can be prepared in a few ways. Always start by whacking the white part with a pestle or the back of a small cast iron skillet. Then remove the outer layers and the lemongrass and chop off the base of the white part.
  • You can either chop the lemongrass by slicing in to thin circles, then mincing and using a mortar and pestle.
    A microplane grater can also be used for the lemongrass (after peeling), garlic, ginger and eschalot/French shallot.
    OR you can add all the paste ingredients (including fish sauce) to a stick blender jar to blend.
  • All all the paste ingredients to a mixing bowl or food processor, evenly distributing. If mixing in a bowl, use a wooden spoon to do so or your hands. If using a food processor, pulse 5-6 times just until the ingredients are well mixed.
  • Preheat the oven to 160C/320F or you can use an air fryer at 140C/280F or if you'd prefer to cook them completely on the stovetop, then make them thinner or smaller.
    Form the mixture in to patties, using about 2 tablespoons for each one. If usng bamboo skewers they need to be soaked in advance.
    Then place on a tray ready for cooking.
  • Heat up a large skillet/frypan with some oil and brown the patties on each side, in 2 batches. Finish in the oven or air fryer for 10 minutes.
    If you aren't planning to eat all of the patties in one sitting - you can either freeze them before browning, or after browning, or after cooking completely. Just remember to finish cooking (or re-heating) them after defrosting.
    If you plan to eat them over 2-3 days, store them in the fridge after cooking completely and just re-heat them when you need.
  • Prepare the sticky rice beforehand.
    Mix up the sauce ingredients when ready to serve and prepare the accompanying elements to serve the skewers with.

Notes

  • I don't recommend using low fat chicken mince unless you can't find anything else
  • An eschalot or a French shallot looks like a slender brown onion - don't be confused and pick up spring onions (scallions)
  • I haven't tried replacing the fresh lemongrass with lemongrass paste in the tube or frozen lemongrass, but I've heard the latter is pretty good. I'm not sure how much to use of either though.
To make a half batch (makes 7-8, to serve 3 or 4 people):
500g/1 pound pork mince (chicken mince also works well, preferably not too low in fat)
3 lemongrass stalks, white parts only
1 teaspoons fine grated ginger
1 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ eschallot (French shallot)
3 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp white pepper
 
Dipping sauce
2 red bird’s-eye chillies, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon fish sauce
1 ½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoon water
1 ½ tablespoon lime juice