Free Chinese Recipes

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium Chinese dried mushrooms
• 275 g (10 oz) lean beef
• 1 onion
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) corn flour
• 1/2 egg
• 1/2 bunch of watercress
• 750 ml (1 1/2 pints) stock
• 50 g (2 oz) beef fat
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) lard (use oil if not available)
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chopped spring onion

Serve 6-8

** Free Chinese Recipes **

Method:

1. Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes. Drain them, remove the stalks and chop the caps coarsely. Chop the beef, beef fat and onion finely.

2. Mix these ingredients in a basin with the salt, corn flour and beaten egg, and work the mixture with the fingers until thoroughly blended.

3. Shape the mixture into small balls. Drop them into a bowl of iced water to cool for 15 minutes. Remove them and drain before cooking. Clean and remove the roots of the watercress.

4. Heat 1 liter (2 pints) water in a saucepan. When it starts to boll, drop the beef balls in one by one to parboil for 2 minutes. Remove and drain them.

5. Heat the stock, in another saucepan. Add the beef bans. Bring them to the boll and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the watercress and lard. Bring to the boll again, and simmer for a further 3 minutes.

6. Adjust seasoning and serve, sprinkled with spring onion in a large tureen for diners to help themselves throughout the meal. Being comparatively short-cooked, the beef balls should be juicy and fresh when bitten into.