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Pearl meatballs

Pearl meatballs in a bamboo steamer
Course	Dim sum
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Hubei, Hunan
Main ingredients	Ground pork, glutinous rice, vegetables, starch
Media: Pearl meatballs

Pearl meatballs, also called pearl balls (Chinese: 珍珠丸子; pinyin: zhēnzhū wánzi) or glutinous rice balls (Chinese: 糯米丸子; pinyin: nuòmǐ wánzi), are traditional Chinese meatballs from Hubei and Hunan. They are usually made of ground pork and vegetables, then covered in glutinous rice and steamed.

Historically, pearl meatballs were eaten on festive occasions like birthdays or Chinese New Year, but is now served casually, such as in dim sum. Pearl balls are a part of Mianyang Sanzheng ("The Three Steamed Dishes of Mianyang"), a famous dish in Hubei cuisine.

Preparation

Pearl meatballs are made with ground pork, mixed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, pepper, diced vegetables, and starch or egg white for thickening. The most commonly used vegetables include ginger, water chestnut, scallions, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and lotus root.

The meat mixture is formed into balls, then rolled and coated in glutinous rice, which is soaked beforehand but not cooked. The balls are then steamed and served in bamboo steamers.

Gallery

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• Mianyang Sanzheng, a specialty in Hubei cuisine that contains pearl meatballs

See also

• Dim sum
• Lion's head
• Steamed meatball
• Meatball

References

1. ^ Aebischer, Camellia (April 1, 2022). "All about pearl balls, the fuzzy Chinese banquet snack". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
2. 梁實秋. 梁實秋談吃. 北方文藝. ISBN 7-5317-2019-1.
3. 李慕貞. "簡易家常菜". 中華民國留學資訊站. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-11-14.

• Meatballs
• Chinese pork dishes
• Glutinous rice dishes
• Dim sum
• Hubei cuisine
• Hunan cuisine