Pearl Balls
06-17-09 · Appetizers & Snacks, Mighty meaty, The rice bowl Tags: Asian, Chinese, pork
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My food column today, an updated version of the pearl balls recipe originally published in this blog in 2003.
When the word dim sum is mentioned, what comes to mind? To the Filipino, it usually means siomai (popular local generic term for shaomai or pork and shrimp dumplings), hakaw (localized pronunciation for har gau or shrimp dimplings), sharksfin dumplings, chicken feet and siopao (steamed pork-filled buns). But go to a really good Chinese restaurant and you’ll discover that there is a wider array of dim sum goodies than you imagined. Chicken and vegetables wrapped in bean curd, stuffed tofu, chicken and black mushrooms wrapped in Chinese cabbage, pork spare ribs with black beans, machang (sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves), stuffed mushrooms, taro puffs, egg tarts, radish cakes, sticky rice balls with sweet bean paste at the center…
The selection is endless. Hop from one restaurant to another and, each time, you might find items you didn’t see in the previous ones. But if you happen to enter the right restaurant, you just might find pearl balls inside one of the bamboo steamers on the dim sum trolley. If you don’t get that lucky, don’t fret. Pearl balls are easy enough to make at home. No dough to knead to make wrappers. You simply soak, mix, roll and steam.
You’ve never seen nor heard of pearl balls? They are meat balls rolled in soaked glutinous rice and steamed until the rice grains puff and create a sticky crust. Pearl balls, like most dim sum food, are sized to be eaten in one go. Lift one up with chopsticks, dip lightly in the spicy, sweet, salty sauce, pop into your mouth and chew slowly to enjoy the burst of textures and flavors.
Ingredients:
¼ k. of glutinous rice
½ k. of ground lean pork (or a mixture of ground pork and pounded fresh shrimps)
1 tsp. of finely minced garlic
1 tsp. of finely grated ginger
½ c. of finely grated carrot
¼ c. of finely chopped onion
1 tbsp. of light soy sauce
½ tsp. of salt
¼ tsp. of pepper
½ tsp. of sesame seed oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
Place the rice in a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour in enough water so that there is an inch of water above the surface of the rice. Cover the bowl loosely and allow the rice to soak in the fridge for at least six hours (overnight is ideal).
In a bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients. Form into balls about two inches in diameter.
Drain the rice in a colander. There is no need to spread the rice on a sheet “ that’s the fastest way to dry out the grains. You want them moist so the best way is to keep them in the colander. Just place the colander over a bowl to catch drippings.
Roll each meat ball in the rice, pressing the rice grains onto the entire surface of the balls.
Place a piece of non-stick paper (wax paper for baking works well) at the bottom of a bamboo rack, making sure that some of the slats are left uncovered to allow the steam to pass through.
Place the balls on the paper-lined steamer racks, about an inch apart to allow space for the rice to expand. You can use as many bamboo racks as needed to cook all the prepared balls. Stack the racks one on top of the other and place over a wok with briskly boiling water. Steam over medium heat for 20-25 minutes. When using several racks, serve the pearl balls from the bottom rack first. Allow the next one to steam for a further five minutes before serving and so on.
Serve the pearl balls with ginger-garlic-soy sauce.
For the ginger-garlic-soy sauce: Mix together 1/2 tsp. of finely chopped (or grated) ginger, 1/2 tsp. of finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp. of finely chopped onions, 1/4 c. of light soy sauce, 1 tsp. of rice vinegar and 1-1/2 tsp. of sugar.
This dish looks interesting. I’ll make it for a potluck.
Thanks, Connie, for the inspiration.
i just did shanghai his afternoon and pearl balls for our dinner, bitin ung mag-ama ko, hawak pa ung chopsicks, wala na daw ba?ung husband ko just dip in soy sauce, ung anak ko, imagine ha, sawsawan nya bagoong na me suka, hahaahha…..
tyak na mauulit agad,sabi ko nxtym,dodoblehin kuna
Hi Connie….this recipe looks so good. Just want to ask what is glutinous rice and light soy sauce? Is the light soy sauce available in supermarkets ? Where can I buy rice vinegar? Also in the supermarket ? I’ll try this one.
Glutinous rice = malagkit na bigas.
Light soy sauce as in Kikkoman although there are a lot more brands available today in the supermarkets. Rice vinegar also available in supermarkets. Check the shelves teeming with Korean products — that’s where they usually are.
Will check out the ingredients. Thanks so much Ms. Connie…..more power to you!
hi ms.connie,i already prepared the mix,this is for our dinner tonight,but i dont have bamboo steamers,is it ok if ill use metal steamers,is there a difference?tnx in advance
Just make sure the condensation does not soak the pearl balls so the rice doesn’t get soggy.
Like it connie! parang may kanin at ulam ka na
thanks!
Really looks interesting for me and easy to prepare. hope u don’t mind, where did you buy your bamboo steamer, thinking of buying one on our visit to Phils. next month. Thanks!
Cooks’ Exchange. SM MEgamall.
hi ms.connie,it was a hit,my kids really like it.mejo bitin yung half kilo,pareho kasing boy yung anak ko kaya mejo lakas kumain.im planning to make this on fathers day,dalin ko pag visit namin sa in-laws ko…the best ka talaga..tnx…
Bitin? Iba talaga eating capacity ng lalaki hahaha
This looks a lot like what my mom used to make when we were little.. and I’m from a Taiwanese background! I thought that was pretty interesting.
looks yummy, miss sassy. i’m gonna make this on my next day off. kailangan ko lang bumili ng bagong bamboo steamer, nasira na kasi iyong dati (overused kasi hehe).
i tried cooking this last father’s day. it was a hit! tnx for sharing this recipe ms.connie!
i am living in france and i wanted our french friends to taste something different from their cooking. i tried it last week and they liked it, specially the children who are so choosy in their food. the boy even told his mother to ask the recipe.
very happy of the result, thanks for sharing this recipe
hi connie! i just done this kaya lang wala akong mahanap na sticky rice dito so i opted for paella rice hehe! wow successful ako!! thanks once again for sharing this!
Hi Connie,
Just wanted to say this recipe hit another home run. Everybody loved it. I had 4 request to bring this for Christmas party.
Gusto ko lang i share sa ibang suki mo dito sa site mo na i added waterchesnut and shrimp and it was very successful.
Salamat ulit!
madam connie,
im very interested to make this pearl balls but i dont have bamboo steamer.what would i do?what is wax paper?and also the ligth venigar..i need your rply.ASAP.
I cooked this last night and it taste heavenly. My husband and daughter love it. It is very filling. Pwede rin kaya beef or chicken in this recipe Ms. C, maganda kasi dalin sa gathering.
Beef: nagse-sebo. Ground chicken is too soft to hold shape.