Pearl Meatball with Tofu and Shrimp
Cooking in Chinglish recipe - Chinese
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 25 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- ¾ cup short grain sweet (glutinous) rice
- 4 oz extra firm tofu (about ¼ pack)
- 1 lb ground pork (20% fat)
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 scallion (thinly sliced)
- 4~6 pieces frozen shrimp (thaw and roughly chopped )
- 1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp sea salt (or to taste )
- 1 pinch five spice or thirteen spice powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 4 leaves nappa or green cabbage (or any other kind of steamer liner )
Instructions
- 1
Soak glutinous rice in 2 cups of water for about 1.5 hour to 3 hours.
- 2
Use a piece of paper towel to press and squeeze out the excess water of the tofu and then crush it with a fork or by hand.
- 3
Mix tofu with all other ingredients and stir with a pair of chopsticks or by hand in a circular motion until the mixture becomes very sticky and sticks together into a lump.
- 4
Scoop a little bit of the mixture into a bowl, microwave for about 15 seconds and sample to see if the mixture needs more salt.
- 5
Store the meat mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes or until you are ready to assemble.
- 6
Blanch the cabbage leaves until it's softened and line the steamer with them. Remove the thicker stem so that the surface will be even.
- 7
After the rice is done soaking, drain and pour it in a tray and pat with paper towel to absorb the extra water.
- 8
Scoop the the meat mixture with a ice scream scoop, toss the meat between two hands several times to eliminate the air in the mixture before forming it into a ball with around 1½ inch (3½ cm) diameter. Place the meatball on the tray with rice.
- 9
Roll the meatball in the tray to coat with as much rice as possible. Gently toss the meatball between two hands 2 - 3 times again to prevent the rice from falling off the meatball and place it on the steamer.
- 10
Repeat the same thing for the rest of the ingredients.
- 11
If using a bamboo steamer, place the steamer on top of a pot filled with about 1½ inch (3 cm) of water. Cook it on medium heat. Once the water boils, continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Serve when it's still warm.
- 12
If using an instant pot, add half a cup of water in the instant pot before placing a vegetable steamer basket in the pot. Line the basket with blanched cabbage or a few small pieces of parchment paper before placing the meatballs on top. Use the steaming function for 15 minutes. When it's done cooking, release the pressure after 5 minutes.