Meat Ball Soup is a common family dish in northern China during winter. I still remember in cold winter nights when I came home from school, I would see the orange light in the window. When I open the door, parents brought up a large bowl of steaming hot meat ball soup…nothing could warm me up better than that.
This new year’s eve, Cucumber and Meat Ball Soup is perfect closure for 2012, also a warm and delicious start to 2013.
Cucumber and Meat Ball Soup
Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
500g pork mince
1/2 cucumber
50g vermicelli
1 egg
120g spring onion
10g ginger
2 tbsp of cooking wine
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of cornflour
2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/3 tsp of five spices powder
1/3 tsp of prickly ash powder
1/2 tsp of ground white pepper
cooking oil
Methods:
- Finely dice the spring onion and ginger. Place the minced pork in a big bowl, add the egg, spring onion, ginger, 3 tbsp of cooking oil, 1 tsp of salt, sugar, cooking wine, sesame oil, five spice powder, prickly ash powder, cornflour, light soy sauce and 2 tbsp of cold water. Keep mixing the ingredients towards one direction until it becomes a paste.
- Peel off the skin of the cucumber, cut it into thin pieces. Soak the vermicelli with cold water.
- Heat up a wok/pot with 1.5L water over strong heat. When the water is about 60-70℃, turn to mid-low heat. Use a tea spoon to shape the meat paste into balls the size of walnuts and put into the water. When finish all the meat paste, turn up the heat, bring to a boil. Skim off the foam on the surface, add the cucumber slices, water-soaked vermicelli, ground white pepper and the remaining salt. Keep boiling for 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and ready to serve.
Tips:
- When making meat balls, dip the spoon into water, so the meat paste won’t stick on the spoon.
- Make the meat balls as fast as possible, in case some of the meat balls are cooked but some are still raw.
