Ge Da Tang

Ingredients

• 150 g plain flour
• 70 ml cold water, for the dough pearls
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 150 g minced pork
• 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1.2 litres chicken stock
• 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100 g bok choy or spinach
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• fine salt, to taste

Before you cook

• Put the flour in a wide shallow bowl.
• Separate the spring onion whites from the greens and slice both.
• Chop the tomatoes into rough chunks.
• Beat the eggs in a jug.
• Wash the greens and tear them into bite-sized pieces.

Steps

1. Dip your fingers in the cold water and flick it over the flour.
2. Stir immediately with chopsticks so the wet flour gathers into loose lumps.
3. Repeat the flicking and stirring until the bowl holds crumbs between the size of a pea and a blueberry.
4. Sift the bowl through your fingers to break up any large clumps.
5. Heat the oil in a pot and fry the minced pork for 3 minutes, until it colours.
6. Add the spring onion whites and ginger and fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add the tomato, soy sauce and sugar and cook for 3 minutes, pressing the tomato so it breaks down into the fat.
8. Pour in the stock and bring it to a rolling boil.
9. Scatter the flour pearls in a few at a time, stirring constantly so they cannot clump together.
10. Boil for 3 minutes, until the pearls float and taste cooked through rather than floury.
11. Stir in the greens.
12. Drizzle the beaten egg around the pot in a thin stream and leave it untouched for 10 seconds, then stir once to make ribbons.
13. Season with the white pepper, salt and sesame oil.
14. Ladle into bowls and top with the spring onion greens.