Steamed pork liver with silk tree flowers on rice
Silk tree flowers, a classic Chinese mood-lifting herb, steamed with ginger-marinated pork liver until just tender — mild, silky and served with rice and choi sum.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: Qi-stagnant types are prone to low moods, a tight chest and poor sleep, and in Chinese medicine autumn belongs to the lungs and to sorrow, so spirits can dip after Bailu. Silk tree flowers relieve constraint and calm the mind, and pork liver nourishes liver blood so the liver can keep qi flowing. Simply steamed, it's a light lunch that lifts the mood.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Soak the silk tree flowers in water for 10 minutes and drain. Cut the liver into thick slices and soak in water for 15 minutes, changing it twice, then drain.
- 2Mix the liver with the ginger, soy sauce, wine, sugar and cornflour, spread it on a plate and scatter over the flowers.
- 3Steam over boiling water on a high heat for 5–6 minutes until the liver is just cooked, then drizzle with sesame oil and scatter with shredded spring onion.
- 4Blanch the choi sum and serve alongside the liver and rice, spooning the juices from the plate over the rice.
Cautions
- Liver is high in cholesterol and vitamin A, so once or twice a week is plenty and pregnant women should limit it; silk tree flowers also call for care in pregnancy.
Chef's tips
- Soaking the liver and changing the water removes any strong taste; take it off the heat as soon as it's cooked or it turns rubbery. Herbalists sell silk tree flowers — buy a little at a time and keep them in the fridge.
The TCM view
Silk tree flowers are sweet and neutral, entering the heart and liver, relieving constraint, calming the mind and settling the stomach — the Shennong Bencao Jing says the silk tree 'calms the five organs, harmonises the spirit and brings joy without worry'. Pork liver is sweet, bitter and warm, nourishing liver blood and the eyes; ginger settles the stomach; spring onion frees the yang and moves qi.
