My sister and her family dine weekly at my place. My sister, has no qualms calling me ahead to place their "orders", she dominates the menus.

Other times, she will "trap" me by describing the particular dish she comes across on TV in gusto, always ending with "You can do this better right?" - knowing that I would take the bait.
This is the sister that is capable of selling ice to the Eskimo.

This time, the "request” for minced pork patty with salted fish - a comfort dish difficult to resist.
I have not been cooking this dish for a long while as I am well aware that I will hit my carbo quota instantly.

This is a traditional Cantonese dish that we often eat it in our younger days.
We just need this one dish, the other dishes on the dining table somehow seem pale in comparison to this recipe.

Salted fish draws a following (well ok, depending if you are a fan), it must be their "distinctive" fragrance that appeals to Asian taste buds. I have tried both the dry version and the soft version in oil, equally good but I preferred to use the soft version in this dish for the texture.

What we want to achieve is a moist, tender piece of the patty, so fatty pork is inevitable; lean pork will be too tough.

Fresh water chestnut, peeled and cut into small cubes is added for crunch, it lends some sweetness to the dish as well.
Minced dried mandarin orange peel(skin) is optional.

I watched my young nephew chowed down his sauce laden rice in an unusually quiet manner and then asked for a refill of rice.

I said silence is golden.


You will need:

300gm minced pork (200gm lean and 100gm fat) or half lean, half fat
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch
1 piece of salted fish (oil soaked type) rinsed with hot water
shredded ginger
3 water chestnut, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon oil
dash of Chinese cooking wine (optional)
sliced fresh cut chilli (optional)


Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together except the starch and mix the pork vigorously in one direction until it appears fluffy.

2. Add starch and mix in well in one direction and set aside in shallow dish for 10-15 minutes

3. Heat up the steamer. Rinse off oil if using the soft version salted fish. The hard version salted fish will need some soaking.

4. Place the salted fish on the patty along with some shredded ginger and steam for about 7 -10 minutes. Served hot.