Super Food In Minutes20 Minutes

Thai-style Meatballs

Name: Thai-style Meatballs
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 500g (1lb 2oz) pork mince; 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 4 spring onions, thinly sliced; large handful of coriander, stalks and leaves separated; 1 tbsp of sunflower oil; 1 x 400ml (14fl oz) tin reduced fat coconut milk; 200g (7 oz) tenderstem broccoli, trimmed; 250g (9 oz) sugar snap peas; 1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce; 2 tsp fish sauce

If you don’t have a food processor you can bash the paste ingredients in a pestle and mortar instead; it will be a bit chunkier but have all the same flavour. Serve the meatballs as they are or with cooked rice.

Donal SkehanFrom the series · Super Food In Minutes

20 min totalServes 4Easy

Time20 min

Serves4

SkillEasy

ShowSuper Food In Minutes

Method

Season the mince with some salt and pepper and shape into 12–16 meatballs.

Put the chilli, garlic, green parts of the spring onions, coriander stalks and a splash of water into the bowl of a mini food processor and blitz until you have a smooth paste.

Heat a little of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, and fry the meatballs until brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside, then add the rest of the oil and fry the green paste for 2–3 minutes until aromatic. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.

Return the meatballs to the pan and add the broccoli and sugar snap peas. Season with the soy and fish sauces and cook for 3–4 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Serve scattered with coriander leaves and the white parts of the spring onions.

Cook's notes

Blitz the coriander stalks into the paste and keep the leaves for serving — the stalks carry loads of flavour, and a splash of water and one more pulse brings it all together.
On the show I left the chilli seeds in for extra spice — deseed as written for a milder sauce, or keep them in if your table likes heat.
Brown the meatballs over a high heat with enough room in the pan, then set them aside while you fry the paste until it smells fragrant.
Let the coconut milk reduce a little before the meatballs go back in, so they finish cooking gently in the sauce and stay tender.
The soy and fish sauces do the seasoning here — taste before you even think about adding salt.

Serve with Steamed jasmine rice to soak up the coconut sauce, with lime wedges and a little extra sliced chilli for those who like more heat.

Make ahead & storage Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheats gently on the hob — add a splash of water or coconut milk if the sauce has thickened. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.

20 MinutesAsian

Recipe by Donal Skehan · From the series Super Food In Minutes · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026

Nutrition

Per serving

462kcal

29gprotein

7gcarbs

23gfat

Figures from the show's kitchen.

Made it? Leave a comment

Tell us how it went — swaps that worked, tips for the next cook, or just how it tasted. Comments appear once they've been checked by the team.

Keep cooking

More from Donal Skehan

All Donal's recipes

Perfect Birthday Funfetti Cake

65 min

Donal's Family KitchenPerfect Birthday Funfetti Cake

Donal Skehan

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

30 min

Donal's Family KitchenCrispy Chicken Sandwich

Donal Skehan

Korean Style Sloppy Joe Sliders

30 min

Donal's Family KitchenKorean Style Sloppy Joe Sliders

Donal Skehan