2018 Chinese New Year Eve & Tofu Ball with Pork and Mushroom Fillings

02/16/2018 is Chinese New Year Day.  Family members get together on New Year’s Eve and have a big family feast together.  It is very much like Thanksgiving Day for American people.  It is all about celebrating, appreciation, families and love. 

Fish in spicy beer sauce

Steamed pork belly and taro

Steamed Chicken feet with oyster sauce

Tofu balls with pork and mushrooms fillings

Smoked pig tails

Pickled daikon

Stir-fried pea tips with garlic

Sweet rice cake with nuts and red bean paste filling

Can you believe it is tofu?  O(∩_∩)O~          

Yes, it is definitely tofu.  Chinese people invented tofu more than a thousand years ago.  We have been cooking and eating tofu in numerous different ways ever since.  Sometimes you know what you eat is tofu, but sometimes you don’t even know if you are eating tofu. 

 

Ingredients：

2 packages of fried tofu balls ( a total of 16)
100g ground pork
6 to 8 pieces dried wood ear mushroom
a handful of  dried shitake or regular mushroom
1 cup sweet rice
 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 to 2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste
water for soaking and cooking

Directions：

Soak sweet rice for at least 4 hours.  Drain well.

Soak mushrooms with water for at least 2 hours.  Rinse well under running water.  Add to processor, and finely chop them.

Add ground pork, chopped mushrooms, and sweet rice, along with all the seasonings to a large bowl.  Mix well with a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks.

With a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut a small opening on each tofu balls, and then scoop out inner tofu as much as possible.

Fill the tofu balls with pork sweet rice mixture.

Add all tofu balls to a medium pot, add water.  Season the water with salt.  Cook over high heat until water boils.  Cover with lid; reduce the heat to simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes. 

Turn the heat back to high.  Cook until all the liquid evaporates. 

Serve hot

It tastes like across meat balls and sweet rice cake balls.  Dried mushrooms and pork add ton of flavors to it.  I love it not just because it tastes good, also because I grew up eating it.  (￣▽￣)”