Gua Zai Rou
瓜仔肉·(guā-zǎi-ròu)
家常菜 (Jiācháng Cài) - Meals Mom Cooked (The Weeknight Family Table)
A squat glass jar of Wei Chuan pickled cucumbers sits in the door of the fridge, ready to turn supermarket pork into gua za bah—a Taiwanese "rice killer" where a single spoonful demands half a bowl of hot white rice to back it up. It comes together on a weeknight from half a pound of ground pork, chopped pickles, and two tablespoons of their sweet, dark brine. Getting a bouncy patty instead of a dry clump of meat comes down to whipping the pork in one direction to build an emulsion, adding an egg white for tenderness, and pressing a crater right in the center so the steam hits the core. Once the lid of the Tatung steamer stops rattling against the aluminum rim, spoon the salty broth over your rice before you even sit down.
Before you start
Combine the pork, chopped pickles, reserved pickle brine, aromatics, egg white, and seasonings in a large mixing bowl.
Hold back the sesame oil and the reserved scallion greens for now. That canned pickle brine is liquid gold—make sure every drop goes into the bowl.
Stir the meat mixture vigorously in one continuous circular direction for 2 to 3 minutes until it forms a pale, sticky paste.
Use a pair of chopsticks or your bare hand. Do not mix haphazardly back and forth; stirring in a single direction unwinds the muscle proteins so the meat traps the liquid and steams up bouncy and tender rather than crumbling in watery broth. Fold in the sesame oil at the very end to lock in the moisture.
Pack the mixture into a shallow heat-proof bowl and press a deep dimple into the dead center.
Use a 6- to 8-inch ceramic or glass bowl. Push your thumb or the back of a spoon into the middle of the meat until you are about 1/2 inch from the bottom. Steamed meat cooks from the outside in; this crater lets hot steam penetrate the thickest part of the patty so the center finishes before the edges dry out.
Ingredients
- ground pork1 lb
- canned Taiwanese pickled cucumbers in soy sauce6 oz
- garlic3 small cloves
- scallions2 med
- egg white1 large
- soy sauce1 tbsp
- rice wine1 tbsp
- ground white pepper1/2 tsp
- sugar1/2 tsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
Method
- 01
Set up a steamer on the stove and bring the water to a rolling boil.
Place a steamer rack inside a wok or wide, deep pot and add about 2 inches of water, making sure the water level sits below the rack.
- 02
Steam the pork over medium-high heat for 20 to 25 minutes until opaque and cooked through.
Place the bowl of pork on the rack and cover the pot tightly. When done, a rich, savory broth will have pooled in the center crater and around the edges—do not pour this off, as it is the sauce for your rice.
- 03
Scatter the reserved scallion greens over the top and serve immediately with steamed white rice.
Notes
Buy the right pickles.
Do not use Western vinegar or dill pickles here. Look for small cans of Taiwanese cucumbers pickled in soy sauce (脆瓜 or 黑瓜) at your local Asian grocer. AGV (愛之味) leans slightly sweeter and heavily aromatic, while Ta Mao (大茂) is more traditionally savory.
Respect the fat ratio.
Standard 80/20 supermarket ground pork mimics the traditional pork shoulder cut used in Taiwan. Avoid extra-lean pork, which steams up dry and chalky.
Appliance shortcuts.
If you own a traditional Tatung electric steamer, place the bowl on the rack, pour 1 cup of water into the outer pot, and press the switch. For an Instant Pot, place the bowl on a trivet over 1 cup of water, cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes, and allow a 5-minute natural release.