人在异乡，有时食物是和想念的家乡最直接单纯的连结。透过味蕾的体验，苦的涩的复杂的心情都品尝不到了，只有满口的香浓滑嫩，彷佛回忆总能将一切杂质滤去，只留下美好的余韵无穷，萦绕在心头。人在天涯，不一定孤单；住在家中，也不一定欢乐。不论你身在何方，寂寞的时候，为自己做一道珍珠丸子吧，深得美食真谛的苏东坡说过：“此心安处，是吾乡”
Chinese Pearl Meatballs 珍珠丸子。来美国后很喜欢下厨，但再怎么喜欢也从来没想过有一天我会自己做珍珠丸子，且意外的尝起来味道不错.......
I’ve been enjoying cooking for myself since I moved to the U.S. Not only does cooking remind me of my culture, but it's also fun. Recently, I tried cooking Chinese pearl meatballs. This dish was named after the look - spheres coated with white sticky rice. They are easy to make and taste really good!
最近公司几个部门决定举办 International Pot Luck 活动，每个人带一道自己国家或者拿手料理，大家一起品尝各国风味。想来想去，要避开外国人不敢吃的（蚵仔煎、三色蛋再见）、做好带到公司再次加热也不会难吃的（炸物咸酥鸡、面条牛肉面之类无缘了）、方便好取用（麻婆豆腐之类或汤汤水水的掰掰）、做起来不麻烦又可以吓唬歪果人，最好有点亚洲风味，种种原因考量下决定做珍珠丸子。我参考了林姓主妇的家务事以及酪梨寿司食谱，然后我再加以改良，没想到做出来满好吃的，整盘都被同事们扫光。食谱做起来也一点都没有想像中困难麻烦！
Chinese pearl meatballs is a traditional Cantonese dim sum dish, and it's commonly seen in Taiwan. My recipe is a based adaptation of two Taiwanese blogs (where original recipes credits go to Mrs. Lin and Avocado Sushi). This dish is usually made of ground pork but I replaced the pork with turkey to make the meatballs slightly healthier. The ground turkey that I bought is 85% lean and 15% fat. And it tasted juicy and nice just like ground pork. I brought these meatballs to an international potluck lunch at the office lately, and this dish hit the spot whenever hunger strikes. I'm happy to share the recipe and hope everyone enjoys this dish!
珍珠丸子食谱
肉馅材料：
- 500g 鸡绞肉（85%瘦，15%肥）
- 香菇数朵（切碎备用）
- 大蒜两瓣（切碎备用）
- 葱绿两段 （切碎备用）
- 姜一小段 （切碎备用）
- 鸡蛋一颗打散
- 米酒适量
- 白胡椒适量
- 太白粉适量
- 盐巴适量
- 酱油适量
- 麻油适量
装饰材料：
- 糯米适量（泡水三小时后沥干静置备用）
- 枸杞泡水沥干或者切片红萝卜适量
做法非常简单，如果你有食物处理机，将肉馅材料调味料全部放到食物处理机搅打均匀。如果没有就跟我一样慢慢切碎，用手和匀拍打。馅料的部分若想加竹笋、皎白笋、荸荠、虾仁也是可以的，但因为我的冰箱刚好只有香菇，所以我的版本比较简单。
吃丸子配汤：【大女子食谱】喝多了还是会醉，蛤蜊醒酒汤
另外我怕有同事不吃猪肉，所以选了鸡绞肉。一般鸡绞肉都比较干涩，所以我买的是 85% 瘦混 15% 肥，吃起来非常多汁，且也比猪绞肉健康（一些些）。全部拌匀后让搅拌后的材料静置三十分钟入味。接着捏成一颗颗小球，滚上沥干的糯米即可入锅蒸。
我没有大同电锅，直接用煮饭的虎牌电锅上层蒸架，点电子选单上的蒸／炖选项，大概二十到三十分钟糯米转成透明，放上枸杞或者胡萝卜装饰后即可大快朵颐！这边的份量大概可以做 25 颗小丸子，吃不完可以放凉后冷冻，下次要吃直接解冻加热即可。
Chinese Pearl Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked sticky rice (soaked the rice for 3 hours, drained and set aside)
1 lb ground turkey (85% lean, 15% fat)
4 mushrooms (chopped)
1 garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (peeled and chopped)
1 scallion with green part (chopped)
1 egg (beaten)
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Optional:
Sliced carrots or 1 tablespoon goji-berry (soaked the goji-berry, drained and set aside)
Use the food processor to mince all ingredients except the sticky rice and mix with ground turkey in a ball. I don't own a processor, so I just chopped and mashed meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then let sit for 30 minutes. Grab handfuls of the mixed and form them to small balls, about 1 inch each diameter. And then roll meatballs in the sticky rice for a layer, make sure that all sides are covered with sticky rice. Place the sliced carrots on the bottom of the meatball, and steam them on high for about 20 to 30 minutes. If you don't like carrots, you can serve the rice meatballs with goji-berry on top after steaming. This recipe makes about 25 balls. I like to batch cook so I let them cool to room temperature and freeze them in smaller containers. They still taste good as the day they were made after reheating!