A steamed pork meatball with salted duck eggs is a classic Cantonese comfort food. My mother made it whenever she made a batch of homemade salted duck eggs, or if she could find raw ones at the market.
Needless to say, growing up in rural upstate New York, it wasn’t easy to find freshly salted duck eggs (or hom dan in Cantonese). If my mother announced that she would make this steamed meat pie-hom dan jeng yook baeng-for dinner, my sisters and I couldn’t wait!
Steamed Pork Meatball Recipes
Steamed pork meatball dishes were a familiar dinner staple in our family. My mom cooked many variations, like our steamed pork pie with preserved vegetables and our steamed pork pie with salted fish.
In our latest cookbook, Life’s works, recipes to know and love from a Chinese American familywe also present a recipe for steamed pork patty with preserved mustard (moi choy in Cantonese / mei cai in Mandarin).
White rice is a must when eating a steamed pork patty, because it is salty and full of flavor. My mother always made sure there was plenty of rice.
It’s a great dish to top off a Chinese spread, or you could simply cook it, steam some rice, and sauté some leafy greens for a simple and delicious meal!
What are salted duck eggs?
Salted duck eggs are a trending ingredient these days. You may have seen pumpkin fries with salted duck egg yolk or salted duck egg chips.
But my childhood memories are not fanciful. We usually cooked them in boiling water, just like you would a regular hard boiled egg. We cut them in half with the shell and served them with plain rice congee or pao fan, a quick rice porridge introduced to me by Judy’s family, which is simply rice cooked in hot water.
You use chopsticks to cut out little pieces of egg, eating them slowly with your congee and maybe a couple of other cold dishes.
Another use of salted duck egg yolk was in lotus mooncakes, which we always ate during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Where can you buy salted duck eggs?
Salted duck eggs are sold raw and cooked/stored in boxes as millenary eggs. We do not recommend the latter for use in this recipe.
Raw, salted duck eggs are the way to go, and while they are certainly harder to find, they can be found in some well-stocked Chinese grocery stores.
Vacuum-packed salted duck egg yolks are more readily available. You can use these if that’s all you can find and simply add water and salt to the pork patty instead of the egg whites. Plain egg white is not a recommended substitute for salted duck egg white.
Alternative assembly methods
the plate
There are a few ways you can approach this dish:
- Mix the egg whites with the pork and sprinkle with the chopped egg yolks (as described in the recipe).
- Stir just one duck egg white into the pork, dot it with the chopped egg yolks, and pour over the remaining egg white. This method involves a layer of cooked egg white on top of the pork patty so you can taste the seasoned meat, salted duck egg white and egg yolks separately. Each of them will have its own consistency, flavor and salinity.
This isn’t one of those dishes you bring out with a wave of oohs and ahhs at its beauty. All the oohs and ahhs will be purely anticipated for its delicious flavors.
There may be some foam on the top of the pork once cooked and some juices. Those juices are best with rice! As for the foam, you can gently remove it with a spoon, but it’s really not necessary. It tastes fantastic just the same.
Recipe instructions
Carefully crack each egg, separating the yolks and whites into two bowls. Set aside. If you can only find salted duck yolks, replace the egg white with ½ cup water and ¾ teaspoon salt.
Notes on pork:
Fatty ground pork (70% lean) is ideal for a steamed pork patty (store-bought Berkshire ground pork is the one pictured), to keep the patty moist and tasty. Alternatively, you can use a cut of boneless pork shoulder or pork butt and use Judy’s method to cut your ground meat, which is the old school method and gives your meat patty a better, more appetizing texture.
In a shallow dish (ideally heatproof where you can also steam the pork), add the ground pork, ginger, cornstarch, granulated sugar, white pepper, five spice powder , Sichuan peppercorn powder, oyster sauce, water, Shaoxing wine and egg whites.
Mix everything with chopsticks or a rubber spatula until the mixture emulsifies. Stop only when the meat mixture resembles a uniform, sticky, smooth paste. Add the water chestnuts and shallots.
Leave to marinate for 30 minutes or more. If necessary, transfer meat to final shallow heatproof bowl for steaming.
Cut each of the duck egg yolks in half. Spread them evenly, round side up, over the meat patty.
Prepare the steamer and bring the water to a boil.
Place the dish in the steamer, cover and steam for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat. Let it rest (without removing the lid) for another 5-10 minutes. Garnish with chopped scallions and/or cilantro and serve your steamed pork patty with salted duck eggs… with plenty of steamed rice!
Steamed Pork Meatballs with Salted Duck Eggs
A steamed pork meatball with salted duck eggs is a classic homemade Cantonese dish. Find out how to make it with this simple recipe!
serve: 4
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooked: 30 minutes
Total: 1 Now 15 minutes
Instructions
-
Carefully crack each egg, separating the yolks and whites into two bowls. Set aside. If you can only find salted duck yolks, replace the egg white with ½ cup water and ¾ teaspoon salt.
-
In a shallow dish (ideally heatproof where you can also steam the pork), add the ground pork, ginger, cornstarch, granulated sugar, white pepper, five spice powder , Sichuan peppercorn powder, oyster sauce, water, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil and egg whites.
-
Mix everything with chopsticks or a rubber spatula until the mixture emulsifies. Stop only when the meat mixture resembles a uniform, sticky, smooth paste. Add the water chestnuts and shallots.
-
Leave to marinate for 30 minutes or more. If necessary, transfer meat to final shallow heatproof bowl for steaming.
-
Cut each of the duck egg yolks in half. Spread them evenly, round side up, over the meat patty. Prepare the steamer and bring the water to a boil.
-
Place the dish in the steamer, cover and steam for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat. Let it rest (without removing the lid) for another 5-10 minutes. Garnish with chopped shallots and/or cilantro and serve with plenty of steamed rice!
nutritional values
Calories: 316kcal (16%) Carbohydrates: 8G (3%) Protein: 18G (36%) Fat: 23G (35%) Saturated fats: 8G (40%) Polyunsaturated fats: 3G Monounsaturated fat: 10G Cholesterol: 256mg (85%) Sodium: 182mg (8%) Potassium: 315mg (9%) Fiber: 1G (4%) Sugar: 2G (2%) Vitamin A: 296UI (6%) C vitamin: 2mg (2%) Soccer: 42mg (4%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
