My parents were visiting us for a few days  towards the end of February and usually mum would do most of the cooking while in town. On this particular day, she asked me what I wanted for dinner and I suggested one of my favorites dishes which is steamed minced pork with salted fish. The only problem was we didn’t have salted fish and it was getting late in the day.

We decided to check out the closest Chinese grocery store which is Manila Oriental Market in Excelsior. I’ve only known about this place for less than a year even though we’ve lived nearby for four years! A friend mentioned it and it has been a life saver as it’s less than 10 minutes away and allows me to avoid the longish drive to the Sunset.

First person I see there is my friend’s sister so I say hi and she tells me her and her mum go there all the time. Strange I’ve never seen either of them until now! My mum tells me that she usually buys the whole salted fish and has the butcher cut it into pieces. She talks to a store clerk who gives her this puzzled look when my mum tries to explain the whole cut into pieces aspect of the process. The clerk directs us the back of the store.

On the way there, my mum is telling me how we shouldn’t buy the fish if it comes from China – “don’t know what they do with the fish!”. She sources hers from Venezula when buying in Vancouver. We find the salted fish hanging at the end of the aisles. First thing I see is “China”. And then see another brand but it says “Vietnam”. What about Vietnam? No? Guess too close to China.

Out of luck, we change the ingredient from salted fish to preserved vegetables or jai choy. We head for the can aisle and find what we are looking for. Before we head out, my mum spots a can of snow cabbage and bamboo shoots.

She tells me that this is is good with pork. Thinly cut the vegetables and some pork and stir fry together for a simple meal. Growing up, I do remember this dish being part of her regular rotation. We aren’t done yet as her eyes light up as she spots a can of braised bamboo tips which she says is good right out of the can. Eat with some steaming hot rice. We spent almost 10 minutes discussing these potential meals and scanning for other canned goodies. All the while I’m snapping photos and feel a bit self conscious as I’m thinking some Chinese lady worker is going to bust down the aisle and start questioning what I’m doing. I guess  I could pretend I don’t understand Cantonese.

I look at my watch and we are late. We got to get home to start making dinner and get the kiddies down to bed so off we go to pay.

Once home, we get down to the business of making the steamed pork dish.

1/3 C preserved vegetables (jai choy)

1 lb ground pork (or piece of pork shoulder, chop using cleaver)

preserved vegetables – take 1/3 C, rinse really quickly (or skip this step), chop it up.

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

2 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp corn starch

My mum said the brand we got is a good one and has been around forever so it’s “ok” that it’s made in China (unlike the salted fish!). Ok, I’ll go with that.

My mum took about 1/3 C of the preserved vegetables and very quickly rinsed it. Or as she said, “I’m not rinsing it; just quickly put in water and immediately take out!” I think she was concerned the flavor would be too strong for the dish.

Chop the jai choy into small pieces.

Ideally you would take use a piece of pork shoulder and mince using a cleaver as I think it results in a better texture for the dish. However, if pressed for time, use ground pork which is what we did. We added pinch of salt, sugar, corn starch and mixed together. To this we added incorporated the jai choy.

Using your hands, take the pork and evenly distribute  the meat mixture in a shallow round dish.

Add water to a wok or pot large enough to hold the dish and bring to a boil. Place a small rack in the wok or pot that you can use to  elevate the dish during steaming. If you don’t have a rack handy, I sometimes can get away with  inverting a small shallow bowl.

Place the pork into the wok or pot for steaming.

Steam for 12 minutes.

The dish turned out pretty well. However, I’d probably skip the quick rinse of the jai choy and add a bit more salt (1/2 tsp). I actually made this dish again a couple of weeks later with these modifications and I liked it a lot better as the jai choy’s flavor came through better (no surprise there!). Depending on taste, this may or may not be something that works for you. I also took four dried mushrooms, soaked them in boiling water for 20-30 minutes, chopped, and used in the dish.

All in all this recipe is fairly easy and is perfect if you have kids and needs to have something ready quickly. The best thing to do is prepare the dish the night before so when you get home you can just go directly to the steaming. However, I’d probably take out of the fridge for a good 10-15 minutes to take the chill out of the meat before steaming.