Rice-Powder Steamed Pork 蒸肉

How it is made

Li Heming told students at Wuhan Business University (武汉商学院) that the best pork for steaming is the shangnao (上脑) shoulder cut or belly, fatty without being greasy, with fat and lean balanced. The rice for the meal is indica, not japonica, because it absorbs water well and does not stick to the teeth.

Meat takes a five-spice cooked rice meal. As Li explained it to China Youth Net (中国青年网), the indica rice is washed and drained, stir-fried in a wok with star anise and cloves until it turns pale yellow, then ground into grains the size of fish roe. Seasoning is poured over the meat or the meat is dipped in it, and the meal is then mixed through, the coating method he says suits meat. In the demonstration the reporter watched, a slab of belly with fat and lean was cut into slices of even thickness, seasoned, coated and laid in the steamer basket.

Flavour and texture

The finished slices, laid out on a lotus leaf, were evenly coated and rich without being greasy: the rice meal takes up the fat and flavour of the pork and turns soft and smooth, while the belly takes on the fragrance of the rice. Li insists the steamed dishes are eaten hot. Pearl balls, which the Xiantao city government lists among the representative dishes, are soft and tender, with the rice grains standing up on the surface like pearls; the government notes that chefs at Wuhan's East Lake Hotel (东湖宾馆) served them to the French president Jacques Chirac on his 2006 visit to Wuhan.

Where it comes from

Xiantao's government relates a legend that the wife of Chen Youliang (陈友谅), a rebel leader at the end of the Yuan dynasty, first mixed meat, fish and lotus root with rice meal and steamed them to reward his soldiers. Li recalls that although every Xiantao household could make the steamed dishes, they were once cooked only at Spring Festival or when an honoured guest came, so that neighbours who smelled the steaming knew a guest had arrived.