Making 肉圓
Here's what a finished bawan looks like being served with Mei-O's special sauce. Below, you can see how it's made.
It begins with pieces of pork cut up to bite-sized pieces to make the filling.
Bamboo shoots are also cut up into small pieces, ...
...and added to the browning pork.
Next, some Five-spice powder...
...and just a little bit of soy sauce is added to the mix.
Then it's all allowed to cook to blend the various tastes together.
The outside starts with rice flour which is mixed with water to get a smooth consistency, ...
...which is then dumped into hot boiled water to thicken.
Then tapioca flour is mixed in...
...which really thickens the mix!
One by one, the bawan are formed by sandwiching the filling between a top and bottom layer. Mei-O uses special bawan cups and small bowls to form the right shape and size.
A top layer encases the filling in the gooey floury mix.
They're then placed in a steamer...
...and steamed until done. They're not timed. Mei-O can tell when they're done just by looking at them.
And they come out looking like this.
Served with Mei-O's special sauce (it was spicy today!), a knife is needed to cut through the gooey outside. Yummm!