Preparation steps 1 Soak the wood ear mushrooms in a bowl of hot water for 20 min. 2 Drain the wood ear mushrooms. 3 Cut off the hard stems of the mushrooms. 4 Finely chop the wood ear mushrooms. 5 Finely chop the shallots. 6 Finely chop the garlic. 7 Finely chop the pork with a large knife. 8 Mix the pork with the mushrooms, half the shallots, half the garlic, the egg, the cornflour, some of the fish sauce, some of the sugar and the pepper. 9 Knead the mixture for 2 min until sticky and smooth. 10 Leave the mixture to rest for 15 min in the fridge. 11 Shape walnut-sized meatballs with oiled hands. 12 Rinse the rice in cold water, rubbing it between your hands, until the water runs clear. 13 Drain the rice. 14 Put the rice in a saucepan with one and a half times its volume of cold water. 15 Bring the rice to the boil over high heat. 16 Cover and cook the rice for 12 min over very low heat. 17 Leave the rice to rest off the heat for 10 min without lifting the lid. 18 Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. 19 Fry the rest of the shallots and garlic for 2 min until golden. 20 Add the tomato purée and fry it for 1 min. 21 Pour in the crushed tomatoes. 22 Pour in the water. 23 Season the sauce with the rest of the fish sauce and sugar. 24 Bring the sauce to a simmer. 25 Gently lower the meatballs into the sauce. 26 Cover and simmer for 20 min over low heat, turning the meatballs halfway through. 27 Uncover and reduce for 5 min until the sauce coats the meatballs. 28 Finely slice the spring onions. 29 Pick the coriander leaves. 30 Scatter with spring onion and coriander. 31 Serve the meatballs and their sauce with the rice. 