What makes these xiu mai bowls worth the effort is the piece of crunchy rib cartilage sitting on each meatball. The meat is springy and tender, the tomato sauce is gently sweet, and banh mi mops it all up.
The difficulty is that the meatballs crumble if the mixture is not worked enough. The meat is mixed for 5 to 6 minutes and then slapped against the bowl 10 to 15 times so it binds. The minced jicama, wrung completely dry, goes in only at the very end.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 258 calories per 100g.
Method
Cut the rib cartilage into thumb sized pieces. Marinate with 1 teaspoon minced shallot, 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, 1/2 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, a little black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon paprika for 15 minutes.
Fry 1.5 tablespoons minced shallot and 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic in a little cooking oil until fragrant. Turn off the heat as soon as they turn lightly golden.
Put 600g ground pork, 120g pork fat and 100g raw pork paste in a large bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1.5 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, 1/3 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch, 1 teaspoon annatto oil and 1 chicken egg. Add all of the fried shallot and garlic, mix for 5 to 6 minutes, then slap the mixture against the bowl 10 to 15 times so it binds. Finally fold in 70g minced jicama that has been wrung dry.
Roll the meat into balls of about 90g, set a piece of cartilage on each one and press lightly so it sticks. Steam over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Put the liquid released during steaming into a pan with half a bowl of water, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1/2 tablespoon chili sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup and 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend. Once the sauce boils, pour in the tapioca starch water and stir until it thickens.
Place the meatballs in small bowls, ladle over the hot sauce, add a few chili rings and cilantro, and serve with banh mi.
Tips
One to two hours in the freezer before rolling gives the meat mixture a springy texture that holds together.
Shallot and garlic fried past light golden turn bitter, so the heat goes off early.
Throw the meat mixture down against the bowl 10 to 15 times for bounce, as mixing by hand alone leaves the balls crumbly and loose.
Jicama wrung completely dry keeps the mixture from turning wet and hard to roll.
A thin sauce takes the tapioca starch water gradually rather than all at once.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.