Joyce's Vietnamese Chicken Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps

• Recipe by Jennifer Joyce

Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce takes the popular restaurant trend of small plates and turns it into a fresh style of entertaining. Joyce's party recipes are clever but extremely doable: She gives chicken meatballs a heavenly sticky glaze, for instance, by rolling them in sugar before baking.

Ingredients

1. 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2. 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3. 3 small shallots, finely chopped
4. 3 garlic cloves, minced
5. 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass, tender white inner bulb only, minced
6. 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving
7. 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
9. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
11. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
12. 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce, leaves separated
13. 1 small seedless cucumber—peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
14. 1 small red onion, halved and sliced
15. Asian chili sauce, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Position a rack in the top third of the oven. In a food processor, pulse the chicken until coarsely ground; transfer to a bowl. Add the fish sauce, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, chopped cilantro and mint, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix with your hands.
2. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the sugar on a plate. Using slightly moistened hands, roll the chicken mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the meatballs in the sugar until they are evenly coated. Transfer the meatballs to the prepared baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, arrange the lettuce, cilantro and mint leaves, cucumber and onion on a platter. Transfer the meatballs to the platter and serve with chili sauce.