thai chicken meatballs

many, many moons ago, i used to make tons of these; there was always something on which i could take these to, and they were easy to eat, being savoury, spicy and a finger food.....finger food is always popular - people just open their mouths and these meatballs just pop in.

1 kilogram chicken mince
2 tablespoons green or red curry paste
1 bunch coriander, chopped finely
1 bunch basil, chopped finely
1 cup breadcrumbs (this may seem like alot, but the meatballs stay moist and tender, not dry and woody)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sweet thai chilli sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or if you want to be authentic, gula melaka
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

place everything except the sesame seeds in a large bowl and mix it all until it's well combined; i like using my handheld mixer to do this - it mixes things better than i ever do and my hands don't get smelly.
at this point, i like to don a pair of disposable gloves and form the mix into balls. i do this sometimes by rolling, other times by extruding it, but a favourite is to use two spoons - the meatballs aren't perfectly round, but they aren't bad considering that you don't get mince all over your hands and because you don't get mince all over your hands, you know the phone won't ring (that's the real reason why i don't like to dirty my hands - the phone always rings when i'm in no position to pick it up).
once all the mince has been formed into balls, you can cover them and pop them in the fridge and cook them at your leisure, or cook them straight away.
here, i give you choice again!! you can pan fry, deep fry, grill or do as i do - microwave them. since everyone's microwave is different, you have to work out the intricacies of your appliance yourself. i place the meatballs around the edge a of a microwave friendly plate and nuke them until their done - make sure they are fully cooked - raw chicken is a definite no no (read food poisoning, and we don't want that). if you want to pan fry, deep fry or grill, do so, and again, make sure the meatballs are full cooked.
choice here again - once all the meatballs are cooked, you can cool them and refrigerate them to heat and serve later, or serve immediately with a sauce of your own choice - sweet thai chilli sauce is a popular choice. (other sauce choices to follow in later posts)
if the meatballs are microwaved, you can brown them a little under a grill to give them a bit of colour just before serving or use some of the optional sesame seeds to sprinkle on them - that makes them look special.....