Mom's Meatball in Mushroom with Bok Choy

So... Growing up I didn’t know the name [香菇鑲肉] to this dish. My mom used to make it when we had guests and I secretly loved it. I learned by watching her a couple times when she was not paying attention. The dish was not always served with bok choy and bean curd underneath when mom made it, but they sure make it looks prettier.

I used dried Shiitake mushroom, but fresh mushrooms work too. I also have seen some with fried tofu or zucchini. If you are using mushrooms, try to pick the same size. Also, depends on the size of the mushroom that is used, you might need to adjust the amount of meat in the recipe.

Ingredient

6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, about 2 inches in diameter

[Let me explain: Soak in 1 cup of clean filtered warm water for at least 1 hour. Mushroom is going to release its naturally sweet flavor and also to soak up the water and become plump. Keep the mushroom water to make sauce later.]

300 gram Ground Pork

1 Scallion, use both green and white parts

½ Tsp Ginger, grated

¼ Onion, minced

Salt and White Pepper Powder

½ tsp Sugar

1 tsp Cooking Wine

1 tsp Soy Sauce plus 1 Tsp for sauce

1 Tsp Corn Starch

1 Tsp Sesame Oil plus 1 tsp for sauce

Some chopped Cilantro for decoration

A bamboo or metal steamer

Instruction

1. In a large bowl, add ground pork, scallion, ginger, onion, salt, and sugar and mix together with hand for 2 minutes.
   

2. Once the meat is well mixed, add cooking wine, soy sauce, white pepper powder, and 2 Tsp mushroom water from soaking earlier. Continue mixing till mixture becomes sticky. Add sesame oil and corn starch.
   

3. Remove mushroom stems. Mushrooms will be soft enough to cut after soaking in water for an hour or so. Lay mushrooms flat on a counter, upside down. With your hands, take meat mixture from bowl and form a meat ball about the size of your mushroom, then place the meatball on mushroom. Repeat with the rest of the mushrooms. After all mushrooms are done, place them on a plate that fits the inside of the steamer. [A pie dish works fine too. As long as it can fit inside of the steamer.]
   

4. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining mushroom water with soy sauce. Drizzle the mixture over the mushroom. Cover the steamer and let steam for 15 minutes. Once done, drizzle a little bit sesame oil and sprinkle cilantro on top.