Also known yuhk béng (肉饼), steamed pork patty is one of the staples of traditional Cantonese home cooking, especially popular in Toisan where my parents grew up.
There are a ton of different variations on this dish that my dad makes for us, and I can assure you that this one is as delicious as any other!
Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!
Main Ingredients
Marinade
Misc
ja choi / zha cai 榨菜, also officially known as hot pickled mustard tuber, originated in Chongqing. It's one of several varieties of pickled mustard plants that are commonly used in Chinese cooking. You can usually find these at most Asian grocery stores, but I've also included a few links to buy them online.
Pick fatty cuts of pork, like pork shoulder butt or pork belly. Lean cuts (like pork loin, pork chop) will turn out too dry and tough.
If you don't live near an Asian market, most or all of what my dad uses in this recipe can be found on Amazon:
I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.
These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!
If you're vegetarian or need to stay away from gluten, we have three alternatives for you!
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
Since oyster sauce is made out of oyster extract, here are some alternatives that have a similar taste without using the actual oyster:
Gluten Free Oyster Sauce
Wok Mei has a gluten-free oyster sauce, but it still contains oyster extract, so it's not vegetarian friendly.
Vegetarian + Gluten Free Oyster Sauce
Unfortunately, we don't know of a vendor that sells an oyster sauce that caters to both dietary restrictions, so you'll need to DIY the sauce.
Mix equal parts gluten free soy sauce and gluten free hoisin sauce. This isn't exactly the same as oyster sauce, but it's pretty close.
We'll first trim the fat off of our pork shoulder (12 oz). Then, we'll cut the pork into strips, slices, and finally, dice them into small bits.
Rinse the diced pork in a bowl of water, and lightly massage it.
We'll drain the pork into a colander, and let the pork passively continue draining while we move on to chopping our vegetables. After we're done chopping the veggies, firmly squeeze the pork against the colander to extract some the extra water.
We'll be preparing a few different vegetables:
The pickled mustard has a salty flavor, so the water chestnuts help balance out the saltiness and give the whole entire patty a nice crunch.
Before mixing flavors together, don't forget to squeeze the extra water out of the pork!
To the bowl of pork, we'll be adding oyster sauce (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tsp), cornstarch (2 tbsp), sesame oil (1 tsp), chicken bouillon (1 tsp), and white pepper (0.25 tsp).
With chopsticks, mix the pork and flavors thoroughly for about 1 minute. The pork should start becoming stickier and pastier.
Add the green onion whites, water chestnuts, and pickled mustard, and mix everything together for another 2 minutes.
Add oil (0.50 tsp) to a plate, and spread it around the surface. This helps prevent the pork patty from sticking.
Add oil (0.50 tsp) to the pork mixture, and mix it around.
Pour the pork mixture onto the plate, and flatten the pork patty with a spoon. Add a bit more oil to the top and spread it around for an extra glisten.
We'll set the stove to high heat and start boiling water in a wok. Set a steamer rack on the bottom of the wok. The water level should be just above the top of the steamer rack / just touching the bottom of the dish.
Once the water is boiling, we'll carefully set the plate inside of the wok. Cover the wok and steam for 15 minutes. (If you're using a metal plate, subtract 2-3 minutes).
Once the 15 minutes are up, we'll carefully remove the plate from the wok. Garnish with the green onions from earlier.
Call your loved ones over! Time to eat!
Main Ingredients
Marinade
Misc
We'll first trim the fat off of our pork shoulder (12 oz). Then, we'll cut the pork into strips, slices, and finally, dice them into small bits.
Rinse the diced pork in a bowl of water, and lightly massage it.
We'll drain the pork into a colander, and let the pork passively continue draining while we move on to chopping our vegetables. After we're done chopping the veggies, firmly squeeze the pork against the colander to extract some the extra water.
The pickled mustard has a salty flavor, so the water chestnuts help balance out the saltiness and give the whole entire patty a nice crunch.
Before mixing flavors together, don't forget to squeeze the extra water out of the pork!
To the bowl of pork, we'll be adding oyster sauce (1 tbsp), sugar (1 tsp), cornstarch (2 tbsp), sesame oil (1 tsp), chicken bouillon (1 tsp), and white pepper (0.25 tsp).
With chopsticks, mix the pork and flavors thoroughly for about 1 minute. The pork should start becoming stickier and pastier.
Add the green onion whites, water chestnuts, and pickled mustard, and mix everything together for another 2 minutes.
Add oil (0.50 tsp) to a plate, and spread it around the surface. This helps prevent the pork patty from sticking.
Add oil (0.50 tsp) to the pork mixture, and mix it around.
Pour the pork mixture onto the plate, and flatten the pork patty with a spoon. Add a bit more oil to the top and spread it around for an extra glisten.
We'll set the stove to high heat and start boiling water in a wok. Set a steamer rack on the bottom of the wok. The water level should be just above the top of the steamer rack / just touching the bottom of the dish.
Once the water is boiling, we'll carefully set the plate inside of the wok. Cover the wok and steam for 15 minutes. (If you're using a metal plate, subtract 2-3 minutes).
Once the 15 minutes are up, we'll carefully remove the plate from the wok. Garnish with the green onions from earlier.
Call your loved ones over! Time to eat!
I have so many memories eating this dish growing up. In talking with my parents, it was really great to hear that they also had their own childhood memories eating this during holidays with their families too.
Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.
Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and hang out with our adorable son. We get into a lot of detail about tips on how to make it.
Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!
Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.
