Heaven's Dragon Balls

During the last few days staying over Jon's place in Sydney, I managed to squeeze out some time out of my busy vacation trips schedule to make this dish. I had the idea for this dish since some time ago, and really wanted to get my hands on it to get it done, but obviously I did not manage to do so until the very last minute... I was inspired to make this dish after seeing some friends who often buy canned lychee to make desserts, and I've always wondered how the sweetness and the saltiness of the meat who blend together, well this is my first trial on it, it not bad I reckon, if I were to make it again, I would give it another twist, which I think it would taste even better! Well, let's go into the preparation of the ingredients...

Ingredients: (makes about 20, depends on how many lychees are there in the can)
1pc Fish Fillet (I used Bassa, about 250g-300g)
300g Minced Pork
1 no. Canned Lychee
1 Egg (white and yolk separated)
2pc Italian Oiled Anchovies
4 stems Chives (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Dried Chili Flakes
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Corn Flour

Method:

This time I included a lot of pictures just in case methodological description is not enough, like people say, a picture tells a thousand words. First of all rinse and drain water from the minced pork and bassa fillet. Use a knife or spoon to crush both meat and mix well.

Do everything on a cutting board, makes things easier, I used knife throughout the whole process, add in the sesame oil, chopped ginger, corn flour, Italian oiled anchovies, one egg's white, light soy sauce and pepper and mix well with the two meat.

The Italian oiled anchovies should be salty enough, hence I did not add any salt into the mixture, if you fancy more salty food, feel free to add 1 tbsp or 2, make sure to add a bit of sugar to sweeten it at the same time, or it will be dead salty.

Once the meat is well seasoned, leave it to rest for about 15 minutes, then start beating the meat vigorously with a cutting knife, this has to be repeated continuously for at least 10 minutes, or until all the meat is well mixed (i.e. you cannot see the difference of fish and pork, and the mixed meat is tender and has some elasticity in it, hard huh?)



Do not forget to add in the chopped chives as well, this will add another layer of flavour to the meat later on when the dish is done.

This is how the meat looks like after all the mixing and beating, no doubt it is a bit like making the ingredients for Yong Tofu. Anyway, I guarantee you this dish is different, try it!

Ok, now it comes to the excited part, filling up those lychees! Remove all the lychee meat from the juice in the tin can, tap dry with kitchen towel. If you want, you can mix all those lychee meat with 1 tbsp of corn flour, that will ensure they are all well dried up. Keep the egg yolk for the last...

Use a teaspoon and carefully scoop in the mixed meat, make sure not to tear off the lychee meat as they are really soft and 'brittle'. After filling up those lychee round and firmly, brush with plain water, making sure they are all filled in tact and will not drop out easily...

Last thing, cook'em! Steam them for only 10 minutes, at most 15 minutes, no more than that! Remove from steamer, leave to cool. Use 1/4 cup of lychee juice from the can earlier, bring to boil in a saucepan, beat yolk and pour over the boiling juice through a sieve, turn of heat after about 1 minute. Pour juice over steamed 'dragon balls', sprinkle with dried chili flakes. Done, serve hot or warm.

*Note: The amount of meat given above is more than enough for the amount of lychee meat from one can of lychee, you can halve the proportion of the meat if you desire. If you prefer to use fresh lychee meat (due to its freshness), simply substitute the lychee juice with sugared water (remember, reduce consumption of sugar!). For those who are adventurous, try this, steam the dragon balls for 5 minutes then roast for another 8-10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. I think this will method will have an even better final result! Enjoy!