In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, chicken bouillon, egg, sautéed onions, sugar, tapioca starch, fish sauce, garlic powder, salt, cilantro stems, and cracked black pepper. Mix everything together until well combined.

Shape the mixture into meatballs.

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meatballs and sear them until they develop a char on the outside. This should only take a couple of minutes. The goal is to get a bit of that char flavor on the meatball before stewing them in the sauce.

Remove the meatballs from the pan and set them aside.

In the same pan, add diced tomatoes, fish sauce, chicken bouillon, sugar, and salt. Stir everything together.

Add the seared meatballs back into the pan, along with a bit of water and the sautéed onions, including all the juices at the bottom of the pan.

Gently mix everything together, being careful not to break the meatballs.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Right before you are ready to serve, add a cornstarch or tapioca slurry to the sauce to thicken it. Mix well until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Garnish with fresh cilantro / coriander, cracked pepper and serve this with a warm baguette.