Meat Grapes (Rou Putao)
A dish of minced lamb shaped into peach-like balls, coated in egg white batter and deep-fried.
Ingredients
Lamb (minced into a paste)
Salt
to taste
MSG
to taste
Sichuan pepper water
to taste
White pepper powder
to taste
Chopped scallions
to taste
Minced ginger
to taste
Egg yolk (beaten)
1
Water starch slurry
Egg white (whipped to stiff meringue)
6
Dry starch
Clear cooking oil
1 kg
Red food coloring
a pinch
Instructions
1
Make the Meat Balls
Chop the lamb into a fine mince and mix in salt, MSG, Sichuan pepper water, white pepper powder, chopped scallions, and minced ginger. Beat 1 egg yolk, combine it with the water starch slurry, and blend the mixture thoroughly into the seasoned meat paste. Form the paste into 12 small peach-shaped balls, arrange them on a plate, and steam over a pot for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2
Prepare the Egg-White Meringue
Whip 6 egg whites until they are stiff enough that a chopstick stands upright in them. Fold in the dry starch along with a pinch of salt and a little MSG, and stir until evenly combined. Divide the meringue into 12 portions, mound them onto an aluminum steaming rack, and shape each portion into a rounded dome. Press one steamed meat peach firmly onto the top of each meringue dome so it sits securely.
3
Fry and Finish
Pour 1 kg of clear cooking oil into a wok and heat to about 150°C (medium-hot), then slide the wok off the burner. Holding the handles on both sides of the aluminum rack, slowly lower the rack with the meringue-topped peaches into the oil. Hold the rack handles and use a ladle to gently splash hot oil over the meringue domes until they turn a pale golden color, then lift the rack out and drain off any excess oil. Dab a tiny bit of red food coloring on the tip of each peach to mimic the blush of a real grape, and arrange the finished egg-white meat peaches neatly on a serving platter to serve.
