Chinese Steamed Pork Patty (Yuk Beng 蒸肉餅)

This recipe for Chinese Steamed Pork Patty 蒸肉餅 is a simple, humble, homey dish consisting of a meat mixture of savory minced pork flavored with a few seasonings. 

What is Chinese steamed pork patty?

Chinese steamed pork patty, also known as yuk beng ("meat biscuit" 肉餅) in Cantonese is simply a seasoned, savory ground pork mixture that is steamed into a round patty.

There are many variations of this classic dish, with some adding salted fish, salted egg, salted veggies (mui choi 梅菜) water chestnuts (荸薺), preserved vegetables (醃菜) and Chinese/shiitake mushrooms (香菇).

What does it taste like?

The pork patty has a tender juicy texture, and a salty, savory, umami flavor.

The resulting juices from steaming are packed with various meaty flavors which go well with steamed rice.

Equipment you'll need

• steamer/steaming rack
• shallow dish
• pair of chopsticks or a wooden spoon: to mix the meat in one direction

Why you'll love this recipe

Easy to make: all the mixing for this recipe comes together in one bowl.

Convenient: using ground pork is an easier, without much fuss; instead of hand-chopping the pork and fat.

Customizable: feeling like adding some veggies or other additions? Just mix it in.

Kid-friendly: the flavors from this pork patty are reminiscent to dumplings or a giant sheng jian bao (生煎包) without the dough.

Ingredients you'll need

• lean ground pork (豬絞肉): (or pork mince) use 80% lean pork 20% pork fat; you can certainly use a combination of pork and fatback and chop it up yourself if you wish
• seasonings:
  • light soy sauce (生抽): regular soy sauce
  • oyster sauce (蠔油): is a dark brown sauce made from dried oysters; has a salty flavor
  • granulated sugar (砂糖): to counteract the saltiness
  • white pepper (胡椒粉): or black pepper
  • cornstarch (玉米澱粉): binds the meat patty together
  • sesame oil (麻油): toasted, for aroma
  • Shaoxing wine (紹興酒): you can omit if you don't have it on hand
  • fish sauce (魚露): a concentrated salty sauce made from salted anchovies; for an additional salty element; use a high-quality fish sauce for the best flavor
• ice water (冰水): to lock in the juiciness in the pork patty; using cold ice water also helps from the pork from warming up too quickly
• ginger (姜): julienned; for flavoring the pork

Garnish:

• pickled/preserved mustard greens (梅菜/芥菜): chopped
• green onions/scallions (蔥/香蔥): chopped

How to make steamed Chinese meat patty

In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, soy sauce (生抽), oyster sauce (蠔油), sugar (砂糖), white pepper (胡椒粉), cornstarch (玉米澱粉), sesame oil (麻油), Shaoxing wine (紹興酒), fish sauce (魚露) and ice water (冰水) (Step 1 below).

Use a pair of chopsticks and mix the meat and seasonings in one direction, until long strands of protein form and the meat forms together into a paste (Step 2 below).

Note: If you don't want to do this and have an electric mixer, you can throw the meat and seasonings into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and mix, in the same manner as making Vietnamese Beef Balls.

Transfer the meat into a shallow dish and spread into a thin layer (Step 3 below).

Create a divot in the middle and julienned ginger (Step 4 below).

Bring a pot or wok full of water up to a boil.

Add the pork meat patty to the steaming rack in a pot of boiling water and cover with a lid (Step 5 & 6 below).

Steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.

Remove from heat and garnish with pickled mustard greens and green onions.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

How to serve

Serve the Steamed Pork Patty as a side dish along with:

• fried rice (菠蘿炒飯), steamed rice (白飯), or chicken congee
• crispy tofu (脆豆腐)
• veggies: yu choy (餘菜), bok choy (白菜), broccoli, gai lan (芥蘭)
• noodles
• steamed egg

It's most optimal to serve the meat patty while it is hot/warm.

How to store

Store the pork patty along with its juices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Tip: You can also store the meat patty and drain the liquid into separate containers.

Place both items separately into the fridge, and once chilled, skim off the fat from the liquid portion.

When ready to serve, reheat both the liquid and the meat patty together.

How to reheat

Cover the meat patty with a lid and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.

Otherwise, re-steam the pork patty until hot.

Variations

There are many variations of this dish, including ones with dried scallops and mushrooms, salted fish, salted egg, or dried squid.

Expert tips

If adding other additions such as salted egg, salted veggies, salted fish, you may need to reduce the amount of soy sauce, oyster sauce or fish sauce.

The recipe does not call for salt as most of the flavorings lean on the salty side.

Other Chinese recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Steamed Egg Custard

Sheng Jian Bao 生煎包 (Chinese Pan-Fried Pork Buns)

Vegetable and Turkey Dumplings with Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Homemade Chinese Sausages 臘腸 (Cantonese Lap Cheong)

Rose Siu Mai 燒賣 (Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings)

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Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Chinese Steamed Pork Patty (Yuk Beng 肉餅)

This recipe for Chinese Steamed Pork Patty is a simple, humble, homey dish consisting of a meat mixture of savory minced pork flavored with a few seasonings. 

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Cantonese, Chinese

Servings: 4

Calories: 166kcal

Author: Michelle

For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.

Ingredients

Pork patty:

• ½ lb lean ground pork (豬絞肉)
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (生抽)
• ½ teaspoon oyster sauce (蠔油)
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar (砂糖)
• ⅛ teaspoon white pepper (胡椒粉)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (玉米澱粉)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (麻油)
• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (紹興酒)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (魚露)
• ¼ C ice water (冰水)
• 1 tablespoon julienned ginger (姜絲)

Garnish: (optional)

• 2 tablespoon pickled/preserved mustard greens (醃菜/芥菜) chopped
• 1 tablespoon green onions (蔥) chopped

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, fish sauce and ice water.
• Use a pair of chopsticks and mix the meat and seasonings in one direction, until long strands of protein form and the meat forms together into a paste.
• Note: If you don't want to do this and have an electric mixer, you can throw the meat and seasonings into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and mix, in the same manner as making Vietnamese Beef Balls.
• Transfer the meat into a shallow dish and spread into a thin layer.
• Create a divot in the middle and add julienned ginger.
• Bring a pot or wok full of water up to a boil.
• Add the pork meat patty to the steaming rack in a pot of boiling water and cover with a lid.
• Steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.
• Remove from heat and garnish with pickled mustard greens and green onions.
• Serve hot with steamed rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 258mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.

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