Pearl Balls
Chinese steamed pork meatballs rolled in glutinous rice so they resemble pearls. Although sourced from a Japanese cookbook section, this is a classic Chinese dish (zhenzhu wanzi).
⏱️ Prep: 20 min🍳 Cook: 20 min🍽️ Makes 25
Ingredients
| 1.5 cups | 360 ml | sweet/glutinous rice (mochigome), soaked overnight and drained |
| 1 lb | 455 g | ground pork (with a little more fat so the balls aren't dry) |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | green onions/scallions, chopped |
| 1 piece | large egg | |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | Kosher salt |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | MSG (optional) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | usukuchi soy sauce (light color) |
| 6 pieces | water chestnuts, peeled, smashed then minced |
Instructions
- Except for the sweet rice, mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl. 2. Grab handfuls of the mixture and pat them in your palms to make it stickier. 3. Start boiling water to prepare the steamer; layer cheesecloth on the bottom of the steamer (optional). 4. Make meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter each. 5. Roll the meatballs in the sweet rice, making sure all sides are covered so they resemble pearls. 6. Place the pearl balls in the steamer and steam on high for 20 minutes.