Wuhan Steamed Pork with Rice Flour

Wuhan Steamed Pork with Rice Flour

　　How to make steamed pork with rice flour:

Ingredients: Pork belly with skin (pork plate meat, pork ribs, pork spare ribs, or half fat-half lean pork butt or pork thigh), base vegetables: green soybeans (green peas, sweet potato, old pumpkin, tender potato, small taro, green beans, etc.).

To make five-spice powder: lightly stir-fry fennel, cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorn, and three-clove nutmeg, then grind them into a powder. (I prefer making it myself, but it’s also available in stores.)

To prepare the rice flour: mix non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice in a 3:1 ratio, stir-fry over low heat until slightly yellow, then lightly crush the grains—don’t grind them too fine. I add star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, Sichuan peppercorn, and dried chili pepper to the rice, then roast them over low heat until fragrant, with toasty rice grains, and grind them into coarse powder. (I prefer making it myself, but it’s also available in stores.) Then place the rice in a bowl, pour boiling water over it to soak until the grains absorb the moisture and swell. Set aside.

Preparation:

1. Slice the pork belly into pieces that are slightly thicker than regular slices but thinner than a chopping board. Place them in a bowl. If using leaner cuts like pork plate meat (the leaner part between pork belly and pork leg), mix in a little raw vegetable oil and set aside. Finely chop brown sugar, mix with water, and set aside to add a natural sweet aftertaste when eating.

2. Finely chop green onion leaves, ginger, and raw Sichuan peppercorns for later use. Stir-fry minced Pixian bean paste in oil to transform the raw spiciness into a fragrant, savory taste, then set aside.

3. In the bowl with the pork, add yellow wine, salt, minced ginger, minced green onion, minced Sichuan peppercorn, five-spice powder, MSG, and a small amount of soy sauce. Mix the pork slices well. Add the stir-fried Pixian bean paste to color the meat. Pour in the brown sugar water, sprinkle it over the pork, mix well, and let it marinate to enhance flavor and sweetness.

4. Add the rice flour just before steaming. Don’t use too much; don’t let the mixture get too dry. Add a little water and mix well so the steamed dish turns out moist.

5. Before steaming, lightly coat the steaming bowl with sesame oil to prevent sticking when flipping the dish later. Arrange the marinated pork slices skin-side down in the bowl. Place the green soybeans in the same bowl used for marinating the pork, add a little salt and a bit of rice flour, mix well, and pour over the pork slices. Steam on high heat vigorously in one go. Steam for 1 hour. (If using skinless, evenly fat-and-lean pork, there’s no need to arrange in the bowl—just mix everything together and steam, including the green soybeans.)

Tips:

You can soak the rice flour in a little water for 10 minutes beforehand. Do not soak for too long.

Store-bought packaged steamed meat rice flour usually already contains salt, and Pixian bean paste is also quite salty, so be careful when adding salt to the pork ribs.