Fried Pork Balls in Mushroom Broth

This is a very simple dish and I remember my grandma and now my mom would always make it during Chinese New Year (CNY). Hmmm I wonder why? Now that I think about it, it is not a very Chinese New Year dish or izzit?

I guess it is because my grandma would always make fried minced pork balls for the kids. It is a definitely hit with the grand kids and not to mention to keep them quiet at the dinner table. During CNY, all the family would gather at my grandma's place and since the main table is only enough for the adults, the grand kids (me included) will always be at the kids table. I was the oldest sibling besides my brother and in my rebellion teenage years, I always wished I could get out of the kids table. However, the saving grace is that my grandma would bring a big plate of fried minced pork balls just for the "kids". Yums!

For the adults, she would cooked fried pork balls with mushroom broth. I guess that's the reason why this became a traditional CNY dish in our family. It's real simple to make especially when you can make more of the pork balls and keep it in the freezer for use when required.

Simple ingredients :

Pork Balls
1 lb of minced pork
1 big onion or 3-4 shallots. (diced fine)
Some diced water chestnut (as desired)
1 TSP of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper, 1 TSP of soy sauce, 1 TSP of rice wine
2 TSP Corn starch to bind the meat and ingredients together

Other ingredients
8 pcs of big Chinese mushroom - (Soak in water till tender) - Cut half or quarters depending on mushroom size.
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 TSP of soy sauce
1 TSP of oyster sauce
1 cup of water
Salt and sugar to taste
Corn Starch to thicken the broth
Spring onion as garnishing.

Simple Steps :

1. Pork Balls
Combine all ingredient and mix well. Take a spoonful onto wet palm annd roll into a ball. Put on dry plate and ensure each ball don't stick to another. When rolling the pork balls, sprinkle some water on palms always to avoid meat from sticking to hand.



Heat up oil and fry the pork balls till golden brown. Set aside.

2. In a wok with 2 TSP of oil, saute the chopped garlic till fragrant and then put in the mushroom. Please make sure that you have rinse and squeeze water from the mushrooms.



3. Stir fry the mushroom for 5 mins and then add water. Put in the fried pork balls. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste.




4. Let it boil in medium fire for 10 mins. If it is too watery, you can add some corn starch mix to thicken the broth.



5. This dish is ready to served.