Translating Minh's instructions for bitter melon
which I learned orally, into a written recipe was a fun little exercise so I've decided to present to you...
Francie's Hairy Balls
These are the meatballs I make for myself all the time because they're tasty, they're easy to make, they've got meat and vegetables all in one, and they keep well. You could double this recipe and eat for a week. You could probably even freeze them, but that's beyond my skill level.
The only problem is that the cabbage makes them look so damn hairy and I don't know why; my mom's meatballs never look hairy. Maybe she lies to me about their cabbage content.
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 to 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded OR an equivalent amount of shredded Napa cabbage
1 or 2 big handfuls button mushrooms, roughly diced (optional)
1/4 or more yellow onion, roughly diced (optional)
1 carrot, shredded (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, improves meatball texture)
soy sauce
garlic powder
black pepper
20 thick slices Chinese sausage (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly mix pork, cabbage, mushrooms, onion, and carrot with hands. Clear a small space to the side of the bowl of pork mix and crack egg into the space. Beat egg with fork, then mix in with hands. Add cornstarch. Add soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper (Can you tell these are the only seasonings I have?) to taste, mixing with hands after each addition.
With hands, shape pork mixture into twenty small balls and arrange on baking sheet. Top each ball with a slice of Chinese sausage. Bake for 30 minutes.
You can also shape your finished pork mixture into five big balls and steam them in the steaming rack of a rice cooker for about 45 minutes. If using Chinese sausage, decoratively arrange four slices of sausage on top of each of the balls before steaming.
Good with steamed white or brown rice.
Francie's Hairy Balls
These are the meatballs I make for myself all the time because they're tasty, they're easy to make, they've got meat and vegetables all in one, and they keep well. You could double this recipe and eat for a week. You could probably even freeze them, but that's beyond my skill level.
The only problem is that the cabbage makes them look so damn hairy and I don't know why; my mom's meatballs never look hairy. Maybe she lies to me about their cabbage content.
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 to 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded OR an equivalent amount of shredded Napa cabbage
1 or 2 big handfuls button mushrooms, roughly diced (optional)
1/4 or more yellow onion, roughly diced (optional)
1 carrot, shredded (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (optional, improves meatball texture)
soy sauce
garlic powder
black pepper
20 thick slices Chinese sausage (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly mix pork, cabbage, mushrooms, onion, and carrot with hands. Clear a small space to the side of the bowl of pork mix and crack egg into the space. Beat egg with fork, then mix in with hands. Add cornstarch. Add soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper (Can you tell these are the only seasonings I have?) to taste, mixing with hands after each addition.
With hands, shape pork mixture into twenty small balls and arrange on baking sheet. Top each ball with a slice of Chinese sausage. Bake for 30 minutes.
You can also shape your finished pork mixture into five big balls and steam them in the steaming rack of a rice cooker for about 45 minutes. If using Chinese sausage, decoratively arrange four slices of sausage on top of each of the balls before steaming.
Good with steamed white or brown rice.