Steamed pork and arrowhead patty with gai lan and rice
Minced pork steamed into a patty with crunchy chopped arrowhead, a Lunar New Year favourite, served with blanched gai lan and rice — light and clean.
- 40 min
- Serves 2
- Steam
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types who eat richly around the New Year often get a bitter mouth and spots at Major Cold. Arrowhead, a seasonal New Year food, clears heat and resolves phlegm and gives the steamed patty a crunch; gai lan clears heat and drains damp, and steaming keeps it light yet filling.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min- 1Cook the rice. Peel and finely chop the arrowhead and blot dry with kitchen paper.
- 2Mix the pork with the soy sauce, cornflour and 1 tbsp water, stirring in one direction until sticky, then fold in the arrowhead.
- 3Spread the mixture into a thin patty on a deep plate and steam over high heat for 12 minutes once the water boils, until cooked through.
- 4Cut the gai lan into lengths and blanch in boiling water with a little oil and salt for 2 minutes; drain and plate.
- 5Heat the oil, fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant and pour over the gai lan. Serve with the patty and rice.
Cautions
- Arrowhead is cold — have less if pregnant or with a cold, weak stomach or loose stools.
Chef's tips
- Blot the chopped arrowhead dry so the patty doesn't weep, and spread it thin so it steams quickly and evenly.
The TCM view
Arrowhead is sweet, slightly bitter and cold, clearing heat, easing coughs and resolving phlegm; lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin; gai lan is sweet, pungent and cool, clearing heat and draining water; ginger and garlic are warm and temper the coolness. Steamed with little oil, it clears damp-heat without harming the stomach.
