- First Post:Nov 12, 2014
- Update: Jul 26, 2021
- Leslie Tay
This is a very popular home cook dish in Singapore because it is so easy to make and extremely tasty. Most Singaporeans will probably remember grandma or mum making it. But as with everything, the difference between a good dish and a great dish is the attention to details. Sure, anyone who has a few basic ingredients will be able to make a tasty dish to eat with rice, but what I am trying to do is to share with you a few tips which I picked up from a hotel chef so that you elevate an ordinary homecooked dish to a restaurant quality dish!
The two key ingredients are the salted fish and the minced meat. The best salted fish for this dish comes from Kuantan, a town in the East Coast of Malaysia. Many of us will be familar with the dry type of salted fish which is used for claypot rice. However, the salted fish that is used for this dish is called Mui Heong and it is a very high quality salted fish which is made from fish that is fresh off the boat. The salted fish is soft and easily turns into a paste with the slightest pressure. So when you place it on top of the minced meat, it is easy to pick up with a pair of chopsticks to mix with the meat. You can try looking for this at the wet market provision shops.
The other ingredient is minced pork. This needs to have a bit of a bite. So you need to either hand chop yourself or buy from wet market where you specifically tell them to coarse grind it for you. The minced pork will also need to be seasoned and treated in a way to produce a nice springy, bouncy texture. This technique, which is a common technique amongst Chinese chefs is what will bring the dish to the next level.
Ingredients:
Part A (treatment)
Salt 1 tsp
Sugar 1 Tbsp
Water 2 Tbsp
Tapioca starch 2 Tbsp
Minced pork 300g
Part B (marinade)
Sesame Oil 2 tsp
Chinese wine 1 Tbsp
Soy sauce 1 tsp (adjust to taste)
Chicken Powder 3 tsp (adjust to taste)
Part C (Toppings)
Mui Hiong (salted mackerel)
Ginger (chopped)
Tang Chye (optional)
Water chestnut (optional)
Procedure
Add salt, sugar and chicken powder to the minced pork. Once mixed, pick it up and throw it onto a steel bowl (or heavy chopping board) several times (10-20) until it becomes springy and clumps together. This action causes the protein to unravel and realign to produce springiness in the meat.
Next add 2 Tbsp of water to the meat and mix thoroughly. You will find that the meat will relax and spread easily. Now add 2 Tbsp tapioca starch and then start throwing again a few times till the mince returns to its springy state. Now marinade with sesame oil 2 tsp, Chinese wine 1 Tbsp, soy sauce 1 tsp, chicken powder 1 tsp. This forms the minced meat base from which you can do many other dishes like Siew Mai and other dim sum dishes.
For salted fish minced pork, I add chopped ginger and tang chye to the mix, then lay the piece of salted fish on top and steam for 8 mins. For a stronger salted fish flavour, you can also mix the salted fish into the minced pork first. The Mui Hiong turns easily into a paste when you press it with the side of the knife. For salted egg version, simply replace the salted fish with salted egg yolk and leave out the ginger.
Happy Cooking!
Other related Pork Recipes:
Hakka Zhar Yoke
Japanese Cha Shu
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11 Comments
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booboo
9 years ago
How much pork is used in this recipe?
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Leslie Tay
Reply to booboo
9 years ago
Sorry, I just updated the post. 250-300g minced pork
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gurble
4 years ago
This is just fabulous. My whole family gobbled it up. I hand chopped a combination of pork collar/ neck and pork belly to give it a proportion of about 30% fat but the fat clumps didn’t look nice when it was steamed so I ended up removing most of the pork belly part anyway.
I got Batang instead of the more prized ikan kurau salted fish at Victoria Wholesale. The guy selling it to me told me that its wasn’t ikan kurau but I didn’t really get what he was saying till I got home. Pity but the dish still turned out great.
Reply
Leslie Tay
Reply to gurble
4 years ago
Glad you liked the recipe!
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gurble
4 years ago
Hi Leslie, there are mentions of chicken powder twice. Do we add chicken powder two times? By the way, I am planning to make 10 kilos of your marvelous char siu recipe this chinese new year for a mega reunion dinner!
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Shamil
3 years ago
very good recipes
Reply
Lisa Seah
Admin
Reply to Shamil
3 years ago
Thank you!
Reply
Josie
9 months ago
Hi! Do you have a recipe for the fried version of this dish? The Hakka Pork Patty with Salty Fish? I am on a hunt for an authentic recipe. I’ve tried making it last week but it tasted nothing like I remember =(
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Leslie Tay
Author
Reply to Josie
9 months ago
I will need to work on it!
Reply
Josie
Reply to Leslie Tay
9 months ago
Hi Dr Leslie!
Thanks for replying. Just want to let you know we managed “to crack the code”.
Our 2nd experiment was successful, abt 95% close to what we had in mind.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CtBdCOsvNxN/
If you do try a recipe, please let me know! =)
Reply
Leslie Tay
Author
Reply to Josie
9 months ago
Thanks! That is interesting!
Reply
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