Chicken Polpette - Asian Style

Taking inspiration from 2 different recipes for Chicken Polpette and Vietnamese Pork Balls I came up with these Asian inspired treats that are great finger food for parties but also delicious in soups creating a flexible meal option for meat eaters /vegetarian households.

Ingredients
500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts (use pork if you prefer)
2 shallots finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 inch root ginger
4 lemon grass stalks - finely chopped using lower 1/3 only
handful of fresh mint and fresh coriander finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tbls fish sauce (optional)
vegetable oil
lime leaves

Slice the chicken and put in a food processor. Pulse until minced up (or buy minced chicken if you prefer but i find its always more expensive!). Smash the ginger with a pestle and mortar and squeeze our the juice over the chicken. Put the chicken in a large bowl and mix the remaining ingredients in. ensuring you mix well.
Coat your hands with a little oil then take a small amount of the chicken mixture and shape into a ball. Once all the mix is used up you should have about 20 bite-sized balls.
Lay your lime leaves on a baking tray and put a chicken ball on top. If large enough secure to the chicken ball with a wooden toothpick, this will allow the flavour to infuse into the chicken.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Can be made ahead and frozen until party time!

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