Pearl Dumpling (珍珠丸子)

I am a busy stay-at-home mom, but I am not sure what I have been busying with? Other SAHMs share the same feeling too? John is not a demanding child, but he is always attached to me. Basically, my only free time (time for myself) is his afternoon nap time. If I want to have extra me time, I would have to sacrifice my sleep time at night. Well, not too much of my rambling else I will become a grumpy young lady (still young ya :D) real soon.

We supposed to have a mahjong gathering today but it is canceled. This is one of the dishes I planned to bring to the gathering. Guys, you missed out a lot! I have not made this dumpling for long, more than two years if I remember correctly. T's requirements for mahjong's finger food are something that is easy to grab and eat, and able to pair with beer or wine. This is a prefect snack or light meal during mahjong games.

I am not sure if it can be found in dim sum restaurants (not available in dim sum restaurants I visited before), but I would definitely consider it as a dim sum dish. It is called pearl dumpling/ball in Chinese as its appearance and colour resemble a pearl.

Some recipes called for egg white, I personally like the one without egg white. The latter produces finer and softer texture. Also, I like to add pinch of sugar in the marinade. This will help to maintain the freshness of the mince.

Ingredients (makes 6-8 pieces):

70g glutinous rice, rinsed, soaked for 3-4 hours, drained

200g minced pork

1 shiitake mushroom, chopped finely

2 stalks spring onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2-3 slices ginger, chopped

1 tbsp corn flour

2 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp shaoxing cooking wine (optional)

Pinch of ground white pepper

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

Methods:

1. Place all ingredients, except glutinous rice, in a mixing bowl. Mix with chopsticks or fingers in the same direction. Mix well. Marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat steamer and line steamer basket with a leaf of cabbage.
3. Divide and shape mixture into 6 (or more/less depending on desired size) equal size balls.
4. Roll mince balls in glutinous rice to coat.
5. Arrange coated balls in steamer basket and steam in preheated steamer for 10 to 12 minutes.