In life, there are a few simple pleasures such as ice cream cone, macaroni and cheese, a good burger, and chicken noodle soup. For me, it’s a simple bowl of Taiwanese meatball in a clear bone broth. I can have that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it brings satisfaction to my soul. The simplicity of the broth with the subtle flavors of mushroom and spices in the meatball sprinkled with the fresh aroma of chopped celery or cilantro or scallions is just perfect. Even though I live in Southern California sprawled with not only Asian supermarkets but Asian ethnic specific ones including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino, I’ve yet to find good Taiwanese meatballs that doesn’t contain unhealthy chemicals and preservatives. For the past six month, ever since I got my stand mixer, I’ve been on a quest to find the best Taiwanese meatball recipe (also known as gong-wan). After countless trials and errors, I’ve finally come up with a recipe that even my family says it tastes authentic.
Taiwanese meatball (貢丸) literally means pounded balls and the reason is because the meat requires a lot of pounding to break the proteins into strands that converts the meat from a soft mushy ball into a springy meatball with a good bite and chew. As the Taiwanese would call it, achieving 「Q」-ness. For this particular recipe, I’m adding in shiitake mushrooms to really bring out the flavor of the meat and the soup.
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds of coarse ground pork (30% fat is ideal)
- 10-12 large dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup crushed ice
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon (optional)
Directions:
First, we need to reconstitute the dried mushrooms by soaking in water for about 1-2 hours and then squeeze out the water. Finely chop the mushrooms and set aside.
The pork has to be very cold in order for the proteins to break down easier and keep their elasticity. Pro Tip: Put the ground pork in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes in advance so it’s partly frozen.
Add all ingredients into mixing bowl including the crushed ice cubes which will help keep the temperature from rising as we beat the meat into a pulp.
Use the flat beater and beat at medium speed for 10-15 minutes until mixture becomes paste-like. The color will also be lighter as the protein strands become loosened. Pro Tip: If you under mix, the meat will have a hard time of binding to each other but if you over mix, the meat would lose it’s elasticity and taste mushy.
Cover and put the meat paste in the fridge and let it rest for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to impart thoroughly.
Boil a pot of water and then turn the heat down to low and allow the liquid to simmer.
Next, shape meat paste into golf ball size meatballs. The trick here is to put a glob of paste in your palm and then collapse your fingers to make a fist and force the paste to come out from the part of your hand between the thumb and index finger. This step takes some practice. You might need to roll this a few times in order to get it into a ball shape.
As you shape each meatball, drop gently into the simmering water. Pro Tip: Make sure the water does not boil or else it will make the meatball dry and not tasty. Stirring occasionally and allow the meatballs to cook until they float to the top of the water. I usually fill the pot loosely with meatballs and cook them in batches.
Strain and let the meatballs cool and you can store it in the fridge for about 3 days or put in the freezer for up to three month.
For my meatball soup, I put the still hot meatballs in a prepared chicken broth seasoned with salt and white pepper and sprinkled some finely chopped celery to serve.
- 3 pounds of coarse ground pork (30% fat is ideal)
- 10-12 large dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup crushed ice
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon (optional)
- soak dried mushrooms for 1-2 hours and squeeze out the water
- put ground pork into the freezer for 30-60 minutes so it's half frozen
- finely chop mushrooms
- add all ingredients into mixing bowl
- use the flat beater and beat at medium speed for 10-15 minutes until mixture becomes pasty
- let the meat paste rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
- shape meat paste into golf ball size meatballs
- cook in a pot of simmering water (do NOT boil) until the meatballs float to the top
- put meatballs in a prepared broth and add some finely chopped celery to serve
- Refrigerate extra meatballs for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months
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