Quzhou Pork and Starch Balls
Coarse balls of diced pork, dried tofu and bamboo shoot bound with sweet potato starch, steamed until the starch turns grey and translucent, and served with rice.
How to eat it
Each ball is roughly the size of a golf ball and holds its shape only loosely, so lift it with a spoon rather than chopsticks and eat it over your rice bowl. The outside is slightly sticky and the inside is chewy and elastic from the starch, with bits of pork and vegetable scattered through it. It is mild, so dip in soy sauce with a little chilli if it is on the table. Order it with rice and a green vegetable; on its own it is heavy. Leftover balls are often sliced and stir-fried the next day.
The story behind the dish
Sweet potato starch is the everyday thickener of the western Zhejiang hills, where the crop grew well on poor soil, and this dish is one of its plainest uses: a way to stretch a small amount of pork into a filling dish for a large table. The grey, translucent look comes from the starch and marks it out from the pale, smooth meatballs of coastal Zhejiang. It is a standard on New Year and wedding tables in the countryside and in home-style restaurants in the city, and most families have their own view on the right ratio of meat to starch.
For reference
Every kitchen does it its own way. What follows is the typical version — ingredients, heat and price shift from city to city and from one restaurant to the next, so take it as a guide rather than a fixed recipe.
If you have an allergy or something you can't eat, check with the staff before you order.