Simmered Pork Patties and Chinese Cabbage

Method13 steps · about 45 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Wash all the Chinese cabbage (350 g). Halve the leaves lengthwise, then cut diagonally across them into large bite-size pieces, angling the knife to expose a broad cut surface. Keep thick white stem pieces separate from the leafy pieces.

   Uses 350 g Chinese cabbage

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Wash the scallion (1) and cut it diagonally into five-centimetre lengths.

   Uses 1 scallion stalk

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Put the firm momen tofu (100 g) on a clean towel or kitchen paper on a board. Cover with another towel or paper and set a tray with a small weight, or an upside-down plate, on top.

   Uses 100 g firm momen tofu, not extra firm

4. 4

   Step 4: Tilt the board so excess water drains away into the sink. Press the tofu for ten to fifteen minutes.

   Drain tofu under a light weight · 15 minUses All the covered tofu under its light weight

5. 5

   Step 5: Crumble all the pressed tofu into a bowl. Finely dice the shiitake and mix it with the tofu, all the raw ground pork (250 g), grated ginger (1 tsp), separate teaspoon binding starch, teaspoon patty soy sauce (1 tsp) and egg yolk (1) until well combined.

   Uses All the drained tofu · 250 g raw ground pork · 30 g shiitake mushrooms, finely diced · 1 tsp grated ginger · 1 tsp cornflour/corn starch · 1 tsp soy sauce · 1 egg yolk

   
6. 6

   Step 6: Wet your hands with a little clean water and divide the complete mixture into sixteen equal portions. Shape each into a flat round patty about five centimetres across.

   Uses All the mixed patty paste · A little water to wet hands for shaping patties

7. 7

   Step 7: Heat both the sesame oil (1 tbsp) and the separate tablespoon of cooking oil (1 tbsp) in a large frying pan over medium heat.

   Uses 1 tbsp sesame oil · 1 tbsp oil

8. 8

   Step 8: Place the patties in the hot pan and cook for one to two minutes until golden underneath.

   Brown the first side of the patties · 2 minUses All sixteen prepared patties · All the heated cooking oil

9. 9

   Step 9: Turn the patties and cook the second side for about one minute until golden. Transfer all patties to a plate, keeping the used cooking oil in the pan. They finish cooking during the later simmer.

   Brown the second side of the patties · 1 minUses All the partly cooked patties and their pan fat

   
10. 10

    Step 10: In the retained pan fat, sauté the prepared thick cabbage stems over medium-high heat for thirty seconds. Add all the leafy cabbage pieces and scallion, then cook for another thirty seconds.

    Cabbage stems 30 sec, then leaves and scallion 30 sec · 1 minUses The used pan fat, with browned patties held separately · All the prepared cabbage, adding stems first · All the prepared scallion

11. 11

    Step 11: Add all the dashi, separate tablespoon simmering soy sauce (1 tbsp), cooking sake (1 tbsp) and half-teaspoon salt (½ tsp), then return all browned patties to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about ten minutes until the cabbage is soft and the patties are fully cooked to 71°C / 160°F at their centres.

    Simmer cabbage and pork patties until cooked · 10 minUses All the cooked vegetables and retained pan fat · All sixteen browned patties, without extra oil · 200 ml prepared bonito dashi stock · 1 tbsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp cooking sake · ½ tsp salt

12. 12

    Step 12: Mix the separate tablespoon of sauce corn starch (1 tbsp) with its measured tablespoon of water (1 tbsp). Stir this slurry into the simmering pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat.

    Uses The complete cooked pan · 1 tbsp corn starch for sauce, mixed with 1 tbsp water in step 12 · 1 tbsp water for the sauce corn-starch slurry

13. 13

    Step 13: Divide the sixteen patties, soft cabbage and sauce between four servings, or present on a shared plate. Serve hot.

    Uses The complete finished dish