Taiwanese Steamed Pork with Pickles | 瓜子肉 (Guāzǐ ròu)
A Taiwanese homestyle dish. It's made with Asian melons that have been pickled making them sweet and savory. When I was younger, Grandma would make this often with a vegetable stir fry and steamed rice or plain congee.
When I asked her to teach me how to make this, she still prefers to use her TaTung Rice Cooker to steam this instead of steaming over a stove. (I suppose some things never change!) With less than 10 minutes of prep, you'll have the pork mixture ready to cook, making this an easy weeknight dish to be served family style.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/4 cup pickled melons (瓜子) + 2-3 Tbsp. liquid from the jar
1/4 cup yellow onions
2-3 stalks of green onions
1 Tbsp. water
1 egg (white & yolk separated)
2 cloves of garlic
TIP: There are many brands of pickled melons. They usually sell these in glass jars at Asian Supermarkets. Look for the jar I used in my video, or look for the words 瓜子 (which means pickled melons). Not all will taste the same, some brands will be sweeter or saltier than others. Adjust to your taste as needed.
