Steamed Korean Pork Hash

When I lived in Los Angeles, we used to go to a small Chinese restaurant just up the street from our apartment.

Occasionally, the cooks would come out and have lunch at one of the tables.

They would bring a “cake” of steamed pork hash and pick at it with their chopsticks, dip a piece into soy sauce, and gobble it up with rice.

I thought about that the other day and got the hungries to make my own version—pork hash with chopped-up kim chee in it. That makes it Korean, doesn’t it?

Ingredients

• GROUND PORK, 1 to 1½ pounds
• SHRIMP, 3-4, peeled, deveined, finely chopped
• KIM CHEE, ½-¾ cup, minced
• EGG, 1 large
• WATER CHESTNUTS, 1 can chopped
• GREEN ONIONS, ¼ cup sliced (reserve some for garnish)
• GINGER, 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled & finely chopped
• (Alternate), GINGER PASTE, 1 tablespoon
• GARLIC, 1 clove, minced
• OYSTER SAUCE, ¾ tablespoon
• SOY SAUCE, 2 teaspoons
• FRESH WATERCRESS

Directions 

1. Combine all ingredients except the watercress and mix well. Place the mixture in a bowl and shape it so it creates an even layer in the bowl.
2. Place the bowl in a large pot and pour 1 inch of water in the pot (not on the pork). Bring water to a simmer and cover pot. Steam for 30-40 minutes until the juices run clear.
3. Remove from pot carefully. There will be some water and coagulation in the center. Remove it.
4. Serve over the watercress, garnish with green onions and some kim chee.