Kate Chou's Taiwanese Pearly Meatballs...

So happy to introduce you to Kate Chou, my fellow Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Ambassador in Taiwan with the most infectious smile ever and a witty humour! Her huge passion for food is evident in her amazing photo collage posts of her eating frenzy with family and friends on our JOFR global community Facebook page. She loves to try exotic and bizarre food everywhere she goes, such as natto (Japanese fermented soy beans), pig's gingiva (teeth gums) and even fried crispy grasshopper on a stick that tastes like roasted nuts. She tells me eating with her lovely family is her happiest moment and that’s why her life is always filled with love and of course….FOOD! Although Taiwanese cuisine is deliciously vast and enticing, she balances eating everything with real sensible food choices as a registered dietitian in Taipei Medical University Hospital, furthering her mission as a JOFR ambassador. Here is Kate from halfway around the world...

Kate Chou, Taiwan

Pearly Meatballs is a recipe passed down from my late grandmom; she used to make these at every festival including Chinese New Year. I can still remember her hand motions while rolling these tiny meat balls! It’s not only super delicious, but also filled with so much love! My grandmom had always loved to cook for us because she believed that people needed good food to get enough energy to do better work!

It’s called pearly meat ball because it looks like a precious pearl :)! This recipe is very suitable for all family members to make together; for elders, it gives them an opportunity to move their hands and participate in this fun activity; for children, they get to roll up their sleeves, and have fun while rolling meat balls! I believe after making this amazing food, family will stick together, forever and ever!!

Kate's Taiwanese Pearly Meatballs

Makes about 20 meatballs

600 g lean ground pork

1 egg, beaten 

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 green onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice wine

Salt and ground pepper to taste
1 tsp. sesame oil
100 g water chestnuts, chopped
2 tsp. cornstarch

1-1/2 cups uncooked glutinous rice, well-rinsed
lettuce leaves for steaming 

Mix pork well with egg, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, salt, pepper, rice wine and sesame oil. Add the water chestnuts. If you have time, let mixture marinate in the fridge for one hour for flavours to meld and texture to firm. TIP: For best texture, stir everything in the same direction until it forms a sticky paste about five minutes (using a pair of chopsticks works well to do this raking and stirring as you go). Add 2 tsp. cornstarch and mix well to ensure binding.

Form meat balls equally to the size of ping pong balls. Coat the meat balls with the rice; with your hands, press rice firmly and evenly to stick to the meat balls, otherwise they will break apart after steaming.

Lay the meatballs on lettuce leaves in a steamer, and steam for about 20 minutes.Cook in batches if your steamer is small. Afterwards, keep the lid on for an extra ten minutes to let the sticky rice cook thoroughly. Discard the wilted lettuce leaves. Let cool slightly before eating. Don't worry if some rice sloughs off, it still tastes really good...

Susan says, "Cute as ping pong balls. I'm sure my kids will love their taste too!"

I couldn't resist and just had to make these the next day for the fam... thumbs up from my boys in Toronto!!

Turned out oh so tasty! Served dipped with soy and sesame oil.

An example of Kate's appetite-whetting Taiwanese food photo collages... see what I mean?

Kate cooking up scrumptious oyster omelets at Taipei's Medical University Hospital.

Vive Food Revolution Taiwan! Keep up the great work Kate!

For more recipes and inspiring work around the globe from the Food Revolution team see Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution!