It is a misconception to think that every Hunan dish is spicy hot. On the contrary, many are not, and this dish, that derives its name from the glutinous rice that shines like little pearls on the pork balls, is one of them.

Ingredients:

5 ounces (140 grams) white glutinous rice
4 medium dried Chinese mushrooms, reconstituted
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, rinsed
4 water chestnuts, fresh peeled or canned, drained
12 ounces (350 grams) pork, about 3 ounces (85 grams) fat and 9 ounces (250 grams) lean
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
8 turns white pepper mill
1 tablespoon potato flour
2 ounces (55 grams) lean ham

Directions:

Rinse the rice, rubbing gently with your fingers in 3 or 4 changes of water, or until it is no longer milky. Drain.

Soak in plenty of cold water for about 4 hours. Drain well and spread out in a shallow pan. Drain and squeeze out excess water from the mushrooms but leave damp. Chop into the size of matchstick heads.

Soak the shrimp, in just enough boiling water to cover them, for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain them, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop fine or mince the shrimp and the water chestnuts. Chop the fat and lean pork by hand or mince coarsely.

Combine the mushrooms, dried shrimp, water chestnuts and pork in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper and potato flour. Stir in, a spoonful at a time, 3 tablespoons of water and the soaking liquid from the shrimp. Cut the ham into pieces the size of matchstick heads and mix with the rice in the pan.

Pick up about 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture, roll it between your palms into a ball about the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Roll this ball over the rice and ham, making sure it is completely covered, and put it on a heatproof plate. Repeat until all the pork mixture is used. The pork balls will fill more than one plate.

Steam the pork balls in a wok or steamer for 15 minutes. Serve the pearly balls hot, either piled up neatly in a bowl or arranged on a warm serving plate.

Serves 6 with 3 other dishes.