Stuffed Pumpkin Flowers

Stuffed Pumpkin Flowers

　　Stuffed Pumpkin Flowers

　　Preparation method:

　　1. Take a handful of pumpkin flowers, remove the stamens inside, peel off the fuzzy skin from the flower stems, and wash them (note: the flowers should remain intact);

　　2. Prepare the filling. The filling for stuffed pumpkin flowers is the same as that for tofu balls: finely chop pork with a mix of fat and lean, Chinese chives, and peanuts, then add an appropriate amount of salt, chicken essence, and one piece of fermented tofu. However, my mother’s method for making the filling is to add one piece of soft tofu, which makes the stuffed pumpkin flowers truly delicious.

　　3. Stuff the filling into the flowers. Note: do not overstuff, to prevent the flowers from bursting during cooking. After stuffing, gather the petals together, insert a cleaned flower stem into the top where the petals are gathered, then either steam or boil them.