Steamed Pork Patty with Ginger

Steamed Pork Patty with Ginger

Dish Name: Steamed Pork Patty with Ginger

Traditional Chinese Name: 蒸豬肉餅 (zhēng zhū ròu bǐng)

Introduction:
This is a staple and very common Canton (Chinese-styled) dish. You can create a great base (as outlined below) and then add a variety of ingredients to enhance flavors and textures. I know this recipe is outside of my soup repertoire, but for the sake of confinement, we’re doing a series of recipes to supplement our Confinement story! Use lean pork, go easy on the soy sauce and salt and be sure to load up on the ginger! Variations include adding dried mushrooms, water chestnuts, fried preserved vegetables, mixing ground chicken meat, dried baby shrimp and basically anything you think would spice up the dish. The trick to making this dish with a great flaky texture is to be sure to massage the meat (either with your hands or a fork). I would love to hear your versions for steamed pork patty!

What are the ingredients? Good for 1-2 servings:

  • 100 g of lean ground pork
  • 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (optional)
  • 30 g of sliced ginger

How do I prepare it?

  1. In a bowl, mix lean ground pork, soy sauce and cornstarch. Using either your hands or a fork, massage the meat so that the little white rolled pieces of fat become thin and sticky
  2. Shift the pork thinly on to a low metal dish (no more than 1-inch in thickness)
  3. Spread evenly the ginger on top of the pork patty
  4. Place the dish on a raised pot of boiling water (or steamer)
  5. Steam for about 20-30 minutes (or until pork is thoroughly cooked)
  6. Skim off the top oil and serve hot

Any benefits?

  • This cut and type of cooking is low in fat (as the fat is all seeped out during the cooking process)
  • This is a good base for additional ingredients if your palate requires something more
  • Super easy to make and quite hands free once it’s cooking
  • Great for kids as well, so you can make it for confinement and other family members!

Any precautions?

  • For confinement, do not add any cooling foods (ie: water chestnuts)
  • Another common ingredient is to use dried salted fish, which I caution as some are high in carcinogenics