Chinese Steamed Pork Patties

It's snowpocalypse in Georgia this week. With six inches of powder and an inch of ice on top, the boys and I huddled around the television like a washed-up roadside diner waitress around the cigarette machine. I cleaned my office, updated files on my work computer, applied for graduate school, burned through the pending laundry pile, and placed Bones, Season 2 on continuous play.

Prior to the snow, I participated in an environmental health training program at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, AL. The training was informative and well-organized, and I brought back a great deal of knowledge, useful both professionally and personally.

Red Cross offers a personal emergency preparedness kit for 1 adult for 3 days at $50. I am opting to create my own "go kit." I recently went to Costco to stock up on a week's worth of canned food and a large LED flashlight. Britton has been carrying the thing around like a police officer.

Below is a picture of Water Bob, a disposable bladder you can place in your bathtub to store 100 gallons of fresh water during an emergency. Considering an adult needs 1 gallon of fresh water per day in disaster situations, a family of four could survive using Water Bob for over a month if necessary.

Another cool feature at the Center for Domestic Preparedness was the hydration chart placed in the restroom. With an endless supply of diuretics and bottled water, I was swinging wildy from yellow to clear. Maybe TMI.

Also, the environmental programs director for AL PHD brought us a can of water bottled by Anheuser-Busch during Hurricane Katrina. He told us the responders were rather excited to see the Budweiser truck pulling up to their camp.

FEMA offers a wide variety of fully-funded training programs at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. I recommend looking into these programs if you have any interest or if they may serve you in your career.

Now to the food. If I could pick the most requested dish in my repertoire, this would definitely be it. It doesn't matter if we just had it or if it's 100 degrees outside. Steamed Pork Patties.

The recipe is an adaptation from a recipe found in Jen Lin-Liu's Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China. It was a dish the author's mother made for her in childhood home in Southern California. The flavors in this dish are distinctively Chinese and somehow capture everything I love about Chinese food. Flavorful without being too bold. The patties are balanced and light (depending on how much pork you scarf down.)

To complete this recipe you will need some heat-resistant containers, like little casserole ramekins or small pyrex bowls. You will also need a method for steaming the little buggers, be it some unknown microwave contraption, a rice cooker with a steamer basket, or a bamboo/metal steamer. You may also need to make a trip to your local Asian grocer for Shaoxing rice wine, white pepper, and rice vinegar.

This year I served them in placed of traditional Southern New Year's Day fare. In my youth, we normally ate plump black-eyed peas to represent prosperity, dark boiled greens to represent wealth, and pork to represent progress and moving forward.

I boiled the black eyed peas in pork stock and made bok choy with oyster sauce (another Britton favorite.)

Don't be scared a the slimy looking picture below. The pork patties are moist and smell amazing. Make sure to serve over plain rice - I prefer brown jasmine.

Chinese Steamed Pork Patties

Serves 2 hungry peeps, 4 not so hungry

• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 cups uncooked rice

Cook rice using your normal preparation. I have a rival rice cooker ($12) that I've been using since freshman year in college that still seems to churn out great rice. Combine remaining ingredients together in a large bowl, stirring until fully homogenized.

Fill your heat resistant ramekins with the pork mixture. I have 2 bowls that are about 4 inches in diameter and an inch tall. I also have 4 bowls that are the same height but half the diameter. It just depends on how many people you want to serve and what portions you feel are appropriate. Remember - you can always refrigerate half your pork mixture to use tomorrow.

Place ramekins in a bamboo steamer or other steaming device. Once water reaches a full boil, allow pork to steamer for 20-25 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 150-155 deg F. I know I am playing with fire here since the accepted cook temp for ground pork is 165 deg F.

REMEMBER - if you are cooking for children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised, always cook your raw meats to the FDA recommended cook temperature and don't listen to crack pot renegades like me.

Once the pork is done, carefully remove the ramekins using oven mitts. Pour the juices over the prepared rice and place the pork patty on top of the rice. Enjoy your homemade Chinese meal, and don't forget to round the meal with a simple veggie like steamed broccoli.

Okay, now I've gotta go watch Rocky IV under the supervision of you-know-who to ensure I get the full cinematic experience. Wish me luck and stay warm!