Steamed Pork Meatballs is a cute dish. The yellow of the corn kernels brightens up the dining table. The sweetness of the corn makes it a perfect dish for children as well as adults. It is also a great dish for a bento box.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 300g/0.7lb pork mince/ground pork
- 80g/2.8oz onion , finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1½ tbsp corn flour/cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 300g/0.7lb corn kernels (note 1)
- 3 tbsp corn flour/cornstarch
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Put all the Meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix well vigorously for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes sticky. I punched the meat with my knuckles several times to break the mince down.
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Wet your hand and make meatballs. The size of the meatball is about 4cm/1½" in diameter (note 2).
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Pat-dry the corn kernels by placing them between paper towels and jiggling the top layer of the paper towel.
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Spread the dried corn onto a tray, add corn flour/cornstarch, and mix well so that all the corn kernels are coated with flour.
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For each meatball, place it on the corn in the tray and gently roll the ball. Some corn should stick to the meat ball.
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Put the ball on your left hand (for the right hander), top with some corn and firmly press the meatball with both hands, just like the way you make Onigiri. You should do this above the corn tray.
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If there is a bald patch without corn, you can fill it with a corn kernel. The meatball does not have to be completely covered with corn, but mostly covered (see the photos in the post).
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Place a steaming paper liner with holes (note 3) in a steamer and place the meatballs in without touching each other (note 4). If your steamer cannot take 16 meatballs at once, you will need to steam them in batches.
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Steam over medium heat for 10 minutes (note 5).
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Serve while hot with soy sauce and rāyu/chilli oil (note 6).
1. I used frozen corn, naturally defrosted. You can also use canned corn kernels.
2. I made 16 meatballs this time. The final size of the meatball after being coated with corn kernels is about 5cm/2" in diameter. You can make the size of the meatball smaller, but if you do, you will need more corn as the total surface area of all the meatballs increases.
3. You can make a steaming paper liner at home using a piece of baking paper. Please see the Shūmai video in my post, Shumai (or Shaomai, Steamed Dumpling).
4. I used a large bamboo steamer that could just fit in 16 meatballs. You can use two smaller bamboo steamers placed on top of the other and steam all of them at once.
You can of course steam the meatballs using other types of steamers or even a normal large pot. Please refer to the instruction of my Shūmai recipe, which includes how to steam in different ways.
5. If your meatball is smaller, your steaming time needs to be reduced by a couple of minutes.
6. I like the simplest dipping sauce to have with my Steamed Meatballs with Corn. You could also add vinegar to it just like how you eat Shūmai. Mustard instead of chilli oil would be good too. Another dipping sauce that goes well with today’s meatballs is ponzu.
7. Nutrition per meatball, assuming 16 meatballs are made.
serving: 49g calories: 82kcal fat: 4.5g (7%) saturated fat: 1.6g (8%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.5g monounsaturated fat: 2g cholesterol: 25mg (8%) sodium: 182mg (8%) potassium: 119mg (3%) carbohydrates: 6.1g (2%) dietary fibre: 0.5g (2%) sugar: 1.4g protein: 4.3g vitamin a: 1% vitamin c: 2.9% calcium: 0.5% iron: 1.9%