Dim Sum Steamed Beef Meatballs
Chinese / Cantonese (点心蒸牛肉球). Dim sum style beef meatballs are special for their tender, succulent texture and two significant flavors, one of which is cilantro. However, for those of you who genetically hate cilantro, please use scallions. The second flavor comes from chenpi (陈皮), or aged tangerine peel, providing a citrus aroma and paying homage to this dish's Cantonese roots.
Ingredients
| 200 g | lean ground beef (for the meatballs) |
| 1.9 g | salt |
| 6.3 g | sugar |
| 18 g | oyster sauce |
| 2 g | chicken bouillon powder, optional |
| 0.6 g | ground white pepper |
| 4.5 g | sesame oil |
| 1.6 g | baking soda |
| 42 g | hot water |
| 42 g | crushed ice |
| 29 g | tapioca starch |
| 42 g | pork fat |
| 12 g | cilantro |
| 3 g (3 square inches) | aged tangerine peel |
| 42 g | jicama (Mexican turnip) |
| 6 sheets | square soybean curd skin, cut into 4-in squares, optional (for serving) |
| 73 g (1/3 cup) | oil to deep-fry the soybean curd skin |
| 32 g | Worcestershire sauce for dipping |
Instructions
Ingredient Tips: Fresh and lean ground beef is the key to achieving a tender and succulent texture. Most pre-ground beef contains some silver skin, which affects the texture; if possible, choose the correct cut, such as beef round and sirloin, and ask the butcher to remove the silver skin before grinding it. Aged tangerine peel (陈皮), aka chenpi, is sun-dried and then stored for at least three years - the older, the better; if you don't have access to Xinhui (a city in Guangdong, China known for producing top-quality aged tangerine peel) chenpi, use fresh tangerine peel, gently remove the pith, then finely dice it. Soybean curd skin (腐皮) is optional as its purpose is to prevent sticking; you can use parchment paper or cabbage leaves as a replacement. If you can't find jicama (Mexican turnip), use carrot, water chestnut, or daikon radish. Pork fat is a bit difficult to buy in US supermarkets - ask your butcher for a little bit, or save the trims whenever you cook a roast.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, salt, sugar, oyster sauce, chicken bouillon powder, white pepper, and sesame oil. Mix the beef until the seasonings are well combined. Chill the mixture in the fridge for one hour.
- While waiting, soak the aged tangerine peel with room temperature water for 40 minutes or until soft. Use a spoon to scrape the pith, and then dice the tangerine peel finely and set it aside.
- Finely dice the pork fat, jicama, and cilantro and set them aside.
- Heat 1/3 cup oil to 380F / 193C in a wok. Deep-fry the soybean curd skin in the oil for a few seconds. Remove them from the oil and soak them in clean water for a couple of minutes or until soft.
- Squeeze the soybean curd skin to eliminate the water and set aside on a plate that fits into your steamer. Soybean curd skin is chewy if you steam it directly, which is unpleasant to eat; deep-frying and soaking make it porous and soft, so it can absorb flavors from the meatballs.
- Combine the chilled beef with the hot water and crushed ice, tapioca starch, baking soda, pork fat, jicama, cilantro, and diced tangerine peel, mixing until the mixture is sticky and well bound. Shape into 6 meatballs and place them onto the soybean curd skin.
- Steam the meatballs over high heat for about 15 minutes until cooked through. Serve with Worcestershire sauce for dipping.
(Steaming and assembly steps reconstructed from the recipe's ingredient list and photos where the source method text ends.)