pork meatballs with water chestnuts and mushrooms

My experiment with meat balls moves in the direction of elasticity. Like bread, the elasticity of meatballs comes from the nesting of protein. In bread, this comes from the gluten. In meat, it comes from the protein. To develop this nesting effect, the primary trick is to stir and stretch the protein. In the making of meatballs, this can come from stirring the ground meat. To improve on the texture of the resultant meatballs, I use glutinous rice flour, which both helps to hold the balls together and to give a chewy feel. With steaming, since some of the flavor of the meat will be lost due to water loss, it is necessary to use extra seasoning.

Recipe: Glutinous rice pork meat balls with water chestnuts

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs lean ground pork
- 1/4 cup of water chestnuts (fresh or canned), finely chopped
- 1-2 TB of finely chopped baby bella mushrooms

- 2 stalks of green onions, finely chopped

- 1 tp kosher salt
- 1 tp white sugar
- 1/2 tp black pepper
- 1 tp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour

Procedure:
Mix chopped water chestnuts, mushrooms and green onions together. Add all the seasonings. Stir well. Then add in the ground pork. Stir and mix until the chopped vegetables are uniformly distributed in the meat. Then add in about 1/4 cup of glutinous rice flour. Stir well until the meat becomes stretchable and elastic. Chill for 1-2 hours. Steam on high heat for 12-30 minutes.