Melissa Thompson’s recipe for lemongrass meatballs in a tamarind and coconut sauce

Just add rice and beans: Melissa Thompson’s lemongrass meatballs with a tamarind and coconut sauce. Photograph: Ola O Smit/The Guardian. Food styling: Esther Clark. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food assistant: Caitlin Macdonald.

Flavoured with lemongrass, ginger and garlic, then lightly fried and poached in a coconut sauce spiked with tangy tamarind, these meatballs are delicious yet light. The sauce is thin and abundant for a reason – eat this dish from a bowl with a spoon to scoop up mouthfuls of rice drenched in the sauce.

Lemongrass meatballs in a tamarind and coconut sauce