Porcupine Meatballs with Rice Quills and Hot-Sweet Mustard
These small sausage balls, with their rice “quills” poking outward, are a dream for entertaining. They can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days before cooking to serve warm. The green tea leaves season the sausage with an exotic savor, and a side plate of hot-sweet mustard, soy sauce, and Asian sesame oil for dipping, all out of a jar or bottle, suffice to complete the dish’s charm. Although the meatballs have a pedigree in Chinese cuisine made with glutinous, or sweet, rice, I prefer to use regular rice. If you don’t have a bamboo steamer basket, a plate lined with lettuce leaves can substitute. The trick here is to rig up something, such as an empty can in the bottom of the pot, to elevate the plate above the water. Covering the pot will allow enough steam to collect around the plate for the balls to cook.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 30 appetizer-size balls
Ingredients
Sausage
Preparation
Step 1
To make the sausage, soak the rice in water to cover for 45 minutes. Drain in a colander, shake dry, and spread on a plate.
Step 2
In a small cup, steep the tea in the boiling water for 3 minutes. When cool, combine the leaves and water with the pork, scallions, soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, white pepper, and salt in a medium bowl, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended. Form the sausage into small balls, using about 1 tablespoon for each ball. Roll each ball in the rice, pressing the grains into the ball so they adhere. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.
Step 3
To cook the meatballs, line a bamboo steamer basket with lettuce leaves. Set the meatballs, without crowding them, on the lettuce. Select a wok that the steamer basket will fit in or a pot the same diameter as the basket so that the basket will rest firmly on the rim. Pour in water to a depth of 1 inch and bring to a boil over high heat. Set the steamer basket in the wok or on top of the pot, cover the basket or pot, and steam until the meatballs are no longer pink at the center and the rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
Step 4
To serve, spread the mustard in the center of a small plate. Swirl the soy sauce on one side of the mustard and pool the sesame oil on the other. Serve the meatballs in the bamboo steamer or transfer them to a platter. Offer toothpicks for picking up the meatballs and dipping them into the mustard mixture on the plate.
