Steamed Beef & Waterchestnut Patty

Steamed beef patty on white rice

As a school girl, I loved coming home to find this dish on the table. Mom would cook this and beef liver with ginger and rice wine for those times of the month when she felt we needed some iron boost. This is a very humble home dish that only seems to be available in my family. I've asked friends when I was growing up and none of them knew this dish. I think the dish originated in Quilin, China where mom had studied, so most people here are not familiar with it as most KK Chinese are Hakka or Cantonese from Guangdong. Everybody has eaten a similar steamed meat patty of ground pork and eggs, one of the most homey Chinese dishes. These are dishes you don't find in restaurants but are eaten regularly at home.

It is best to use unfrozen tenderloin or sirloin, and the waterchestnuts must be fresh, not canned. Eat it with rice or congee. The flavor of the beef and the crunchy sweetness of the waterchestnuts, plus the ginger and doong choy goes very well with rice.



Steamed Beef & Waterchestnut Patty
400 g (or more*) lean tender beef
400 g (or more*) waterchestnuts
1/2 T ginger, cut into very fine strips
1 T doong choy (a preserved veg), washed well
1 egg, beaten
1 T cornstarch
2 t sesame oil
a shake of white pepper
2 t light soy sauce
1 t dark soy sauce
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup water
finely cut spring onions for garnish

* You can adjust these amounts to your liking

1. Chop the beef until fine. Do not use supermarket bought mince; too much fat.

2. Peel the waterchestnuts and chop them coarsely.

3. Put the beef, waterchestnuts, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauces, salt, pepper, egg and water into a shallow heat-proof dish and mix well (use fingers). Pat the patty until it is level. Drizzle about 2 T water all over the patty. Sprinkle the doong choy and ginger strips on top.

4. Steam at high heat for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the patty. It should be about 1"/2.5 cm thick only.

5. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot. Optional: heat up a tablespoon of peanut oil until smoking and pour over the cooked patty. This will give extra flavor.