These pork rice balls are rolled with sticky rice and then steamed. Dip in hoisin sauce or wrap in a lettuce leaf and serve as an appetizer!
Thank you National Pork Board for sponsoring this post and providing me an opportunity to participate in the Pass The Pork Blogger Tour! The opinions expressed are mine alone.
Pork Rice Balls
I’m sure you’ve heard the slogans “Pork, The Other White Meat” or “Pork Be Inspired” which are both intended to catch your attention and take a closer look at pork products.
Well, I had an opportunity to participate in a three day blogger event that allowed me a close-up peek of the pork industry and tour a state of the art pork farm in Iowa!
A tour of a pork farm
This California girl is surrounded by agriculture. I pass by acres of lettuce, strawberries and artichokes on my way to my office during my work week, but I have never been exposed to livestock farming and to be perfectly honest, I was a little nervous of what I might learn.
Like you, I’ve read stories about animals being mistreated and living in barbaric conditions, so I mentally prepared myself with those images and even went as far as thinking that I just might come home a vegetarian (dramatic much?! lol).
What I experienced when I toured the Brenneman Pork family run swine and grain company was an extremely well organized and highly sophisticated operation that has been committed to refining and improving their processes in all their business practices for over 30 years.
Family run farm
During the tour we were able to ask any question we wanted and were given a lot of time with the Brenneman’s and their extended family.
My father is an entrepreneur, so I can appreciate the sacrifices and commitment it takes to run a company from the ground up. Some years are better than others just as you would expect in any company, and in the pork industry you have to be willing to adjust to the consumers demands, while continuing to provide the safest and best quality of pork.
Most impressive is the bio-security policy in the Brenneman’s sow unit, nurseries and finishers areas. Any person (employees, visitors, vets….EVERYONE) on the farm must be free of dirt and disease before coming in contact with the animals.
Yep! They don’t want HUMANS to infect their pigs! In order to mitigate infectious diseases there is a very regimented routine in place. Every person must take a full shower and dress in coveralls or those white space suits you see in the photo above before being in contact the the piggies as well as shower when you leave the farm!
Bloggers experience farm life!
Several of the bloggers sleeved a sow. That’s when you put on a long plastic glove and gently pull the piggy out of the sow during delivery! Delivering a newborn was super cool and quite an incredible experience!
I delivered piggy number 14, the last of that particular sow’s piglets, so I suppose I’m a piggy midwife now!!
Cute as can be and you might think that after that experience I would never touch bacon again! Quite the opposite is true. After witnessing the pork farming practices I’m looking at pork with more recipe ideas in mind!!
How to cook pork
On this tour we were fed very well and had a wide variety of pork dishes to try. We also cooked our own meal with the guidance of Nina who developed an amazing pork inspired menu that was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us!
One of the helpful tips I learned is how to properly cook pork. Since pork is very lean, the internal temperature of the meat should be between 140 – 160 degrees. You can read about more tips on cooking methods on the Pork Be Inspired page. There is also a printable chart detailing the cooking guidelines.
Since I returned from the tour I have a new appreciation for the life of a farmer and the pork industry! In fact, I’m humming the catchy slogan,“Put Pork On Your fork!” with pride!
I made these tasty pork rice balls with a mix of ground pork and Asian spices, rolled each in sticky rice and then steamed them! Add more flavor by serving these with hoisin sauce or wrap each piece in lettuce for a utensil free appetizer!
Pork Rice Balls
Pork rice balls rolled in sticky rice and then steamed. Dip each ball in hoisin sauce or wrap in a lettuce leaf.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sticky rice (glutinous)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 green onions, chopped
- hoisin sauce for dipping
Instructions
Notes
Ground chicken, turkey or beef will also work in this recipe although the flavor will be different with each meat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 72Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
Olga
Sandra, it looks perfect and tasty! Can’t wait to have this anytime of the day, love it!
Healing Tomato
That pig looks so cute! You must have had so much fun taking the tour.
Sandra Shaffer
I wanted to sneak a little piggy home with me, but then I saw how quickly they grow!! LOL
Debra @ Bowl Me Over
What a great read! How exciting that you were able to tour the farm and I don’t think you were being overly dramatic….I would be concerned to, LOL! LOVE your recipe, sounds just delicious!!
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you, Debra! My imagination can go a little hay wire. haha! The tour was a great experience 🙂
Sara
What a creative and amazing recipe! Sounds so good – can’t wait to try it out!
Sandra Shaffer
Hope you love the recipe, Sara! Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Aunt Bee
I am in LOVE with this recipe! Looks WONDERFUL!
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you XOXO !!
Joy @ Joy Love Food
Sounds like a great tour and how amazing to deliver a baby pig! Those pork rice balls sound really good too!
Sandra Shaffer
Delivering a baby piggy was unreal! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have this opportunity 🙂
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads
These look amazing! What a fun trip you had! I bet it was a great learning experience!
Sandra Shaffer
I had no idea what a incredible experience this would be. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to visit such an active farm!
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
I remember seeing all the photos from yourself and the other bloggers during your trip! 🙂 It looked like such a cool experience. Although truth be told, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to “sleeve” a sow, lol. I had a hard time just milking a cow for a few minutes last month. 😉
And this recipe sounds delicious! Love the pork with the rice in these.
Sandra Shaffer
I surprised myself, Carrie, but I had a private quick talk with myself and said – this is it, go for it! Amazing! 🙂
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic
You were so calm and collecting while playing piggy midwife that I never would have guessed that you didn’t grow up around livestock and do that sort of thing all the time. You’re a natural! You are also obviously quite a natural when it comes to cooking rice balls. I adore them, but I’ve never attempted rice balls at home. You make it sound so easy that I should give it a try.
Sandra Shaffer
Natural or a good actor! lol I was completely out of my element, but I feel much more confident now! These pork balls are super yum and they are easy to make!
Bam's Kitchen
Wow, what a cool experience. Not many of us can call ourselves piggy nurse midwives. I also love your quick and easy pork rice ball appetizers. Easy and delicious!
Sandra Shaffer
I know, right??! I’m pretty proud that I have that brave moment and seized the opportunity to help the mama sow deliver!
linda spiker
Wow! Those look amazing and sound pretty easy to make. Win/win!
Sandra Shaffer
These do come together quickly and you prepare the meat in advance if you want.
[email protected]'s Kitchen Adventures
What a wonderful opportunity! These pork and rice balls look delicious! I love that they are steamed.
Sandra Shaffer
The pork balls are make like dim-sum! Tasty little bites!
Sammie
Hi Sandra dear! Oh you look like you’re having so much fun on your trip! 🙂 Love this rice ball dish you made! So pretty and appetizing!! Yums!
Sandra Shaffer
Visiting Iowa was a blast! I learned so much in such a short time. The rice balls are delicious. I hope you try them 🙂
[email protected]
I so enjoyed reading about your trip, Sandra! Those little piggies are so cute, and I’m amazed you got to deliver a little one! What a great experience, and a delicious looking recipe too! I’m a huge fan of pork!
Sandra Shaffer
This trip really did change my perspective on farming. There is so much work that goes into providing quality pork. I’ll be forever grateful for this experience 🙂
Mary @ LOVE the secret ingredient
Oh my gosh, delivering a little piglet? What an experience! And I love the idea of wrapping these pork balls in the lettuce. Delicious!
Sandra Shaffer
The rice balls aren’t as mess as the lettuce wraps I’ve made before. So tasty!
Sarah
I love the method you used to put the rice on the pork. I have never seen that before. Such a great recipe!
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Sarah! Restaurants will make dim-sum in a similar way. Easy to assemble and so yummy 🙂
Cynthia @ Whole Food | Real Families
What a great app! We love pork!
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you! I hope you give this recipe a try!