Hakka-style stuffed shiitake mushrooms with minced pork

Marinate eight soaked and squeezed shiitake with a quarter teaspoon each of salt and sugar, an eighth teaspoon of white pepper powder and half a teaspoon of soy sauce; mix and set aside.

Cut 60 g pork fat into a fine dice and set aside, and mince 150 g lean pork into a paste.

Put the mince in a bowl with half a teaspoon of salt and one egg white and stir to develop the myosin, for a sausage-like spring.

Drizzle in 40 g of ice water bit by bit, stirring vigorously, over about five or six minutes.

Stir in a slurry of half a tablespoon of cornstarch and an equal amount of water and stir a final couple of minutes.

Slam the mixture down against the bowl about ten times.

Season with a quarter teaspoon each of sugar and white pepper powder, half a teaspoon each of Shaoxing wine and soy sauce and a quarter teaspoon of dark soy sauce, and stir again.

Mix in the diced fat and a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.

Sprinkle about an eighth teaspoon of cornstarch over each shiitake and rub it into the ridges, then press about a tablespoon of filling onto each, smoothing it into a meatball shape.

Steam on a plate over a high flame, covered, for five minutes.

For the sauce, fry ginger and scallion whites in about a teaspoon of peanut oil or lard over a medium low flame until fragrant, then swirl in a teaspoon of soy sauce and half a cup of shiitake soaking liquid.

Remove the aromatics and season with a quarter teaspoon each of salt and sugar and an eighth teaspoon each of MSG and white pepper powder.

Drizzle in a slurry of a teaspoon of cornstarch and a bit of water, and once thickened pour over the stuffed shiitakes; sprinkle scallion greens over as garnish.