Description
Chinese Pearl Balls are a delightful dish of tender, juicy pork meatballs coated in sticky rice and steamed until the rice is translucent and pearly. They are a comforting and impressive dish perfect for family meals and Chinese New Year.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup glutinous rice
- 2 tablespoons Chinese dried shrimp (optional)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Soak glutinous rice and dried shrimp in separate bowls with cold water for at least 4 hours. Drain well.
- Finely mince the rehydrated dried shrimp.
- Combine ground pork, eggs, minced dried shrimp, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, grated ginger, sliced green onions, sugar, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in one direction until the mixture is sticky.
- Add cornstarch and panko breadcrumbs to the pork mixture. Stir to combine until the mixture is stiffer.
- Stir in the toasted sesame oil.
- Line a steamer with parchment paper with holes cut in it, or wet cheesecloth.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the pork mixture, shape it into a ball, and roll it in the soaked glutinous rice until fully coated. Gently press the rice to adhere.
- Place the prepared pearl balls onto the lined steamer, leaving about 1 inch of space between them.
- Add 2 inches of water to a steamer pot and bring to a boil. Steam the pearl balls for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Serve the Chinese Pearl Balls as a main dish.
Notes
- For juicier and more tender meatballs, use ground pork with a higher fat content. Coarsely chopped ground pork from a Chinese market is ideal.
- Soaking the glutinous rice for at least 4 hours is crucial for a tender texture. Soaking overnight in the refrigerator is also an option.
- You may need to steam the pearl balls in batches unless using a two-tier bamboo steamer. You can steam the first batch while shaping the second.
- This dish is traditionally served without sauce, but a simple dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, or sriracha, can be added.
- To make this dish gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce, dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and ensure gluten-free panko breadcrumbs are used.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Steaming
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 315 kcal
- Sugar: 1.7 g
- Sodium: 793 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 38.7 g
- Cholesterol: 103 mg