China · Home-style
Hand-Pounded Meatball Soup
Clear broth with springy meatballs made from hand-minced pork and glass noodles, seasoned simply with ginger, spring onion and peppercorn.
The meatballs are chopped by hand rather than minced in a machine, and the difference is real: machine meat turns to paste, while hand-chopped meat keeps its grain and springs when it hits the water. The ginger, spring onion and peppercorn water is added in stages and worked in by squeezing, so that the meat absorbs it instead of sitting in it. The stock is kept just below boiling while the meatballs are dropped in, because a hard boil would tear them.
Ingredients
- salt6 g
- ground pepper2 g
- potato starch40 g
Directions
- 1
Cut the meat open and trim it so that the fat to lean ratio is three to seven.
- 2
Chop it a little, then beat it with the back of the knife to open and loosen the sinews.
- 3
Keep chopping and beating and chop it to a mince. For the best result chop it yourself; machine-minced meat is far too pasty.
- 4
Add the egg white and keep stirring in one direction.
- 5
Add 40 g of potato starch and mix evenly.
- 6
Add cooked soy oil, which is what keeps the meatballs tender and springy.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.