Recipe here.
Mods on the meatballs (the first time I made it):
Less sugar in the meatballs, omitted the sriracha because I didn't want it to be too spicy. Also omitted the salt as per reviewers suggestions and it was a mistake. Next time add the salt! Also used Thai fish sauce instead of Vietnamese. Maybe that was the issue? Might add red pepper flakes or sliced thai chilis next time.
(the second time I made it):
I forgot about these notes and followed the recipe faithfully. This time I had Vietnamese fish sauce. And probably a touch too much green onions. But the little meatballs were salty, savory and just plain delicious. Not too sweet. Not spicy. A home run y'all.
Mods on the "pickled" vegetables (the first time I made it):
1/4 cup of sugar was too much. I'd halve that next time. I coarse grated the carrots and used regular radishes since I couldn't find daikon. I think next time, I'll cut them into matchstick thin slivers instead. The grated stuff was fine but I would have preferred a little more crunch.
(the second time I made it):
I remembered to check my notes and reduced the sugar to 1/8 cup. It was still sweet. Noticed that I've been using SEASONED rice vinegar instead of unseasoned. Didn't know there was both. Julienned the radish and carrots. It's more time consuming since I don't have a mandoline, but this is my preferred way to eat the pickled veggies. Also noticing that the original recipe uses a photo where the veggies are julienned not grated too. Hm?
Sauce (the first time I made it):
Didn't make the sauce since it was mayo based but I'd like to work on a sub. There were a few suggestions in the reviews.
(the second time I made it):
I made the sauce according to directions. Mostly. Tried to halve it since I am the only one who will eat it. I used organic light mayo from WF. This could be my mistake. I just don't like it. And I am not normally against mayo. I'll try out the Helman's if I do this again. On its own, the sauce was still pretty mayo-y despite the extra sriracha I added. On the sandwich, the mayo flavor was less noticeable. If I had more time I would have looked up the suggestions on the reviews. I'm game for trying it again. Third times the charm, right?
