Chinese Steamed Pork Patty

To ensure the pork cooks evenly and quickly, it's best to take the pork out of the fridge to room temperature while we are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Begin by soaking the 4 dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for about 30 minutes. To make sure that they stay submerged, place a small plate on top of them. Prepare the rest of the ingredients while we wait.

In a small bowl, mix together ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil and set aside. (Do not add the cornstarch)

Finely dice 1 Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong) and set them aside.

Then finely dice 2 tablespoons preserved mustard stem/tuber and set it aside.

Finely mince 2 stalks green onions, separating the whites from the greens. We will use the white part for the minced pork patty, and the green part as a garnish. Set them aside for now.

Once the mushrooms are re-hydrated and soft, squeeze the liquid out. This will allow the mushrooms to absorb the delicious pork juices while it's steaming. Cut out and discard the tough stems, and finely dice the caps into small pieces and set it aside.

Thinly slice 300 g pork shoulder or butt.

Then cut them into strips.

Dice the pork strips into small pieces.

Lift the knife 2-3 inches above the cutting board and chop the pork using the weight of the knife and gravity in an up and down motion. You don't need to aggressively chop the pork. Repeated the motion across the whole surface. (Works best with a cleaver. If you don't have one, use your largest and heaviest kitchen knife).

Fold the chopped meat onto itself back into a pile

Repeat chopping across the surface again until it is flat again. Repeat the folding and chopping process 5-10 times.

Add the minced pork (or ground pork), 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and pre-mixed seasoning we made earlier to a large bowl.

Use a wooden spoon (or a few chopsticks held together) and stir the pork in one direction for about 5 minutes to allow the meat glutens to emulsify the fat and pork together. This will create a springier, textured patty.

Next, add in the chopped preserved mustard, Chinese sausage, the whites of the green onions and shiitake mushrooms and mix well.

Place everything on a plate with a lip and form this mixture into a flat 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch patty. (Try not to form a patty thicker than 1 inch, or it won't cook quickly and evenly. If you do end up making a thicker patty, steam it for 1-2 minutes longer.)

Prepare your steamer by adding water and letting it build up steam for about 5 minutes on high heat. Place your plate or bowl in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes.

Once the patty is cooked, sprinkle green onions on top and carefully take it out of the steamer. I like to use oven mitts, but you can also buy steamer claws as well.

Serve your Chinese steamed pork patty with rice and enjoy!