貢丸 Chinese Bouncy Pork & Beef Balls

Happy (day-after) Valentine's Day!!

My valentine's day consisted of staying up all night the day before and cramming for the Lab Medicine final i had. I completely bombed that test... It turned out to be much, much, muchhhhhhh harder than one other people took last week. ARGHHHHHHH... should've taken the test earlier :'( I hate the feeling of doom during and after exams, makes me want to climb into a hot tub and slit my wrists. Sigh, i used up all my luck last year... 2009 isn't treating me so well.

Onto a brighter note, I made Red Velvet cupcakes for valentine's yesterday! But I didn't have a valentine to share the love with since JLo went skiing in Austria for 9 days. He wanted me to join but i declined. Having spent the first 18 years of my life in the southern hemisphere and on a semi-tropical island, I'm really not built for the snow/cold. So anyways, I should be posting about the Red Velvet Cupcakes to suit the occasion, but since I'm gonna have a 貢丸 [gong-wan]-making marathon with friends later, I had to post this up so that i'll have access to this on the Internet. I have hfng to thank for giving me the site for these bouncy meat balls, THANK YOU!!! I was so excited about this recipe that i went ahead and bought myself a food processor-- it became my best-friend ever since XD. I never thought I'd be having [gong-wan] in Poland and never knew it was THIS easy. I made Pork and Beef balls last time and I have to say, i liked the Pork balls better... but Polish meat has this "raw" taste to it even when cooked, so I might add a bit of ginger to it next time. I'm still a Gong-wan beginner so I don't really have any tips to give... But I'll update on any other variations later on (fish balls, different additions, seasonings...etc), can't WAIT! My food processor and I are gonna have so much fun together-- SHE's my Valentine.

貢丸 Chinese Bouncy Pork & Beef Balls
from The Waitakere Redneck's Kitchen and Sinner's youtube
INGREDIENTS:

• 500g pork or beef, cut to small pieces
  [just use the cheapest cut since it'll be turned to mush anyway]
  
• ½ cup (125ml) icy cold water
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ½ tablespoon oil
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
  
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mince the pork in a food processor until a paste is form. Add 5 Tbsp water (a Tbsp of water at a time) to get a smooth paste [picture 1, 2, 3].
2. In a separate cup, mix together the remaining water, fish sauce, salt, sugar, oil, cornflour and baking powder.
3. Remove the pork paste from the food processor and put in a big bowl. Pour the liquid mix to the pork paste and stir well slowly until the liquid is absorbed into the paste (use either your hand or a fork) [picture 4, 5].
4. For the taste test, microwave or boil a teaspoon of the paste. Season to taste with more salt or sugar.
5. Cover bowl with clingwrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes [picture 6].
6. Boil a pot of water. Once the water has boiled, remove the pot from the heat, set aside.
7. Add pepper to the paste and stir to combine [picture 7].
   
8. Scoop the paste onto your wet hand. Push the paste through your thumb and 2nd finger by making a fist [picture 8]. Use a wet spoon to scoop and drop it into the hot water [picture 9, 10]. To prevent the paste from sticking to your hand and spoon, wet the spoon and hand with water.
9. Continue forming the pork balls until they form a layer in the water.
   
10. Now turn on the heat but do not let it boil. Just simmer slowly without bubbling-- if not, your pork ball will not have the 'bounce' [picture 11].
11. When the pork balls starts to float, leave for a few more seconds. (Cut one in half to see if it is cook. The inside should not be pink).
    
12. Fill a big basin with icy cold water. Scoop out the balls and let it cool in the water [picture 12].
13. After the pork balls have cooled, use as required or freeze.

豬肉貢丸 Bouncy Pork Balls


牛肉香菇貢丸 Bouncy Beef and Mushroom Balls

貢丸湯 Taiwanese Meatball Soup
INGREDIENTS:

• Bouncy beef/pork balls
• Chinese celery, finely chopped [picture 2]
  [i used normal celery. they're thicker and don't have that "crunch" Asian celeries have]
  
• Vegetable/chicken stock
• Fried shallots (optional)
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• Coriander (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make 2 perpendicular, 1 centimeter slits on each bouncy ball (into a cross) [picture 1].
2. Bring a pot of water/stock to a boil. Add in the bouncy balls and fried shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to float and the slits open up [picture 3].
3. Season with salt and white pepper.
4. Add in the finely chopped celery and turn off the fire to maintain the celery "crunch" [picture 2, 4].
   
5. Garnish with chopped coriander (optional).

• You can add noodles, vermicelli, or cellophane noodles to the soup with an egg drop.

貢丸湯 Taiwanese Bouncy Ball Soup