It’s almost Chinese New Year, which means that it’s time to celebrate with the most delicious and impressive Chinese dishes. This year, we’re making Pearl Meatballs with Sticky Rice or zhēn zhū wán zi (珍珠丸子).
These Pearl Meatballs originated in China’s Hunan/Hubei region, where they’re considered a holiday or special occasion dish. They appear often at banquet dinners for Chinese New Year and birthdays.
Of course, the name Pearl Meatballs comes from the fact that if you squint, they look like giant pearls. The sheen of the Pearl Meatball comes from the short grain glutinous rice it’s wrapped in. Some versions of this recipe use light soy sauce for the rice, but then you lose that pearlescent glow when the meatballs come out of the steamer.
My Aunt’s Recipe
My aunt makes these Pearl Meatballs for our family’s Chinese New Year dinner every year. They are a crowd pleaser, and she makes plenty of them!
I hope she is not reading this, because over the years, we’ve learned not to be TOO enthusiastic. One eager word, and you’ll get a few more meatballs on your plate, AND she’ll emerge from the kitchen triumphantly, with one more plateful when everyone thought they had successfully finished off the last batch to make room for the many other yummy dishes on the table. Not to mention she always sends the leftovers home with us.
Her meatballs are delicious, and sometimes she likes to add some ground fish fillets to the mixture to make them more flavorful, but I decided to stick with a more traditional pearl meatballs recipe. And I have to say that these may just be better than hers…
Recipe Tips
For an impressive holiday dish, these Pearl Meatballs are actually pretty easy to whip up. But to achieve the ultimate texture, I suggest that you hand-chop the ground pork using the techniques from our “How to Grind Meat without a Meat Grinder” post to chop the pork until there are no visible chunks. This makes for a silky meatball.
It’s also important to line the steamer with parchment paper, bamboo leaves, or leaves of napa cabbage to prevent the meatballs from sticking. Any lost rice that falls off the meatballs will yield cracked pearls! Not very prosperous for the new year. I used the bamboo leaves, which I had on hand and add great aroma.
Include these Pearl Meatballs in your Chinese New Year menu––they are a feast for the eyes and the stomachs of your guests! Happy New Year, everyone!
Chinese Pearl Meatballs: Recipe Instructions
To start, soak the dried bamboo leaves by submerging them under water with the weight of a large plate. (You can do this the night before.)
Now, soak the short-grain glutinous rice in a bowl covered with at least an inch of water above the rice for about 2 hours. While the rice is soaking, prepare the meat filling.
Weigh about 13 ounces of lean pork and 3 ounces of pork fat. You can use the techniques from our post on How to Grind Meat without a Meat Grinder in Minutes, and hand-chop the pork very finely. It’s also fine to use store-bought ground pork, but make sure it’s 80% lean.
In a large bowl, add the ground pork, water chestnuts, ginger, the scallions, water, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, white white pepper, sesame oil, sea salt, and sugar.
Stir to combine everything well, whipping in just *one* direction for at least 5 minutes until the filling becomes fluffy and sticky.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the meat is marinating, prepare the steamer. Wash and trim the bamboo leaves, and use them to line the steamer.
After 2 hours of soaking, drain the glutinous rice, and do your best to shake off any excess water.
Remove the meat filling from the fridge after the 30 minutes has elapsed. Now it’s time to make the pearls! Take about a tablespoon of meat filling, form a ball…
And roll it in the glutinous rice so that the whole surface is coated.
Roll it between your palms lightly to ensure all the glutinous rice adheres to the meatball. Position the meatballs on the bamboo leaf with about ½ an inch of space in between each meatball.
To cook, start with cold water with the bamboo steamer covered. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes.
After steaming, turn off the heat, and let the meatballs sit with the cover on for 3 additional minutes before removing the lid.
Serve these classic Chinese Pearl Meatballs as an appetizer or as one of your family style dinner dishes!
Chinese Pearl Meatballs with Sticky Rice (珍珠丸子)
Ingredients
- 6 dried bamboo leaves
- ¾ cup glutinous rice
- 1 pound hand-chopped ground pork with 20% fat
- ⅓ cup water chestnuts (minced)
- 2 teaspoons ginger (minced)
- 3 tablespoons scallions (just the white parts, minced)
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- To start, soak the bamboo leaves by submerging them under water with the weight of a large plate. (You can do this the night before.)
- Now, soak the glutinous rice in a bowl covered with at least an inch of water above the rice for about 2 hours. While the rice is soaking, prepare the meat filling.
- Weigh about 13 ounces of lean pork and 3 ounces of pork fat. You can use the techniques from our post on How to Grind Meat without a Meat Grinder in Minutes, and hand-chop the pork very finely. It’s also fine to use store-bought ground pork, but make sure it’s 80% lean. In a large bowl, add the ground pork, water chestnuts, ginger, the scallions, water, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, white pepper, sesame oil, sea salt, and sugar.
- Stir to combine everything well, whipping in just *one* direction for at least 5 minutes until the filling becomes fluffy and sticky. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the meat is marinating, prepare the steamer. Wash and trim the bamboo leaves, and use them to line the steamer.
- After 2 hours of soaking, drain the glutinous rice, and do your best to shake off any excess water.
- Remove the meat filling from the fridge after the 30 minutes has elapsed. Now it’s time to make the pearls! Take about a tablespoon of meat filling, form a ball and roll it in the glutinous rice so that the whole surface is coated. Roll it between your palms lightly to ensure all the glutinous rice adheres to the meatball. Position the meatballs on the bamboo leaf with about ½ an inch of space in between each meatball.
- To cook, start with cold water with the steamer covered. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes. After steaming, turn off the heat, and let the meatballs sit with the cover on for 3 additional minutes before removing the lid and serving.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
I have made these so many times now after trying them at Chinese New Year. We make them at least once a week. I have to say, I do like to dip them in a bit of dumpling sauce sometimes.
They are so easy to make and the effort/deliciousness ratio is incredibly pleasing.
Love this website!
You are right, Jenny, why do we reserve these kinds of dishes for CNY only? Enjoy them more often.
These meatballs are absolutely divine. The flavor is so well-balanced. The texture is lovely. Plus they look so darn cute in the steamer, I could have stared at them all night, if we weren’t busy devouring them. A friend tasted one and looked over at me with the biggest grin. “These are… seriously perfect. Please make them again.” Thanks for your amazing site! I’m enjoying trying new recipes.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Jenny, so glad you enjoyed it :-)
Hi Judy, can these be made ahead of time and frozen? If so, should they be frozen before or after they have been steamed? Or can I make it through all the steps to the end and refrigerate to steam the next day? Thank you!
Hi Alice, you can make everything the day before up to the point of steaming. Make sure you cover them to keep them from drying out in the refrigerator :-)
I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a while and finally made it as part of this year’s Lunar New Year spread. I absolutely loved the flavor of the meatballs. It’s reminiscent of a Lion’s Head recipe that I use.
Thank you!
That’s so great! Thank you for trying our recipes :-)
Im going to make these tomorrow and also the prawn cakes, would I serve either these sticky rice balls or the prawn cakes with any kind of dipping sauce or just serve straight into the gullet? Thanks.
Hi Jenny, these two dishes usually don’t require sauce.
Thank you do much for responding. I already made my shrimp cakes and did end up serving with a but of chilli oil, which I loved. I’m really disappointed that I dont have the ingredients to make more!
The meatballs are steaming RIGHT NOW! I will just chuck them straight down:-)
Sounds good, but don’t forget to chew! :-)
Hi Judy, can I reuse bamboo leaves after I wash and dry them for another time? If yes, how to dry the leaves?
Hi Judy, I forgot to mention that I LOVE sticky rice! My daughter in law is Hmong and it’s GREAT! I eat it plain in a little ball with my grandchildren!
Hahaha…there is something about sticky rice that we all can’t resist :-)
Hi Sharon, I have not tried that, and I have not seen or heard of anyone doing that :-)
Can these be cooked in an Instant Pot? If so, do you know what would be the best cooking time? Thanks.
Made this for CNY and it was a hit! Thank you! Really want to make this again. One question tho, is there a way to make the rice coating thicker? Maybe use cooked rice instead and cut down the steaming time? (I thought of doing this zhongzi style, but I’m not sure if i can still cook this by steaming if it’s all wrapped up in leaves.)
Hi Dee, I think there is enough rice for that size of meatball. Please see this steamed ribs with sticky rice as it may give you some ideas for what you want to do :-)
Can you substitute cheesecloth for the bamboo leaves since it is only used for steaming? Thanks!
Yes, you can. You can also use corn husks and lettuce leaves :-)
this looks amazing – planning a cny dinner but i will be the only one cooking, and have a six month old to take care of at the same time…
am wondering if i can prep the meatballs the night before and place them in the fridge, for steaming the evening after?
I have this question too! Can this be prepped in advance and steamed the next day?
Hi Shirley, yes you can. Pre-make the meatballs, cover overnight in the refrigerator. Then roll each meatball in the soaked rice right before steaming.