Steamed pork patty with shiitake (冬菇蒸肉餅)
Everyday Cantonese home cooking: seasoned minced pork and chopped shiitake steamed in a flat patty, soft and juicy, with rice.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 3
Method
- 1
Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes, or in cold water for a few hours. Squeeze them dry, remove the stalks and chop finely. Keep a little of the soaking water.
- 2
Season the pork. Mix the pork with the soy sauce, sugar and cornflour. Add the water a little at a time, stirring hard in one direction for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is sticky. Mix in the mushrooms and sesame oil.
- 3
Shape. Spread the mixture in a shallow heatproof dish, about 1.5cm thick, and scatter the ginger over it.
- 4
Steam over boiling water, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through: steaming hot in the middle, with no pink meat and clear juices.
- 5
Serve scattered with spring onion, with the juices from the dish spooned over rice.
About this dish
蒸肉餅 is the dish every Cantonese family has eaten a thousand times: quick for a 陪月 to put together, soft and easy to chew, and the juices that collect in the dish are perfect with rice.
Tips
- Stirring in one direction until the mince turns sticky is what makes the patty bouncy rather than crumbly.
- Variations: swap the mushrooms for a few chopped water chestnuts for crunch, or a little preserved mustard greens (梅菜) — rinse it well, as it's salty.
- Minced meat must be cooked right through. If you make the patty thicker, steam it for longer and check the centre.
Sources
About these recipes
- These are traditional home recipes, shared for cultural interest. They are not medical or nutritional advice, and we don’t claim any dish treats, prevents or cures anything.
- If you have allergies, gestational diabetes or a special diet, or take any medicines or herbal remedies, check with your midwife, health visitor, GP or pharmacist before changing what you eat.
- Follow UK food-safety advice: cook meat, fish and eggs thoroughly; cool leftovers and get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours; eat them within 2 days; and reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- Some recipes contain alcohol, and cooking doesn’t remove all of it. If you’re breastfeeding, read our guide to ginger vinegar and chicken in rice wine first.
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