Pork Steamed in Lotus Leaves

Cut the pork into slices about 1.5 x 1 inch piece and 0.5-inch (1.2 cm) thick each.

Soak the lotus leaves in hot water for 5-10 minutes until they are soft and pliable. Drain and let cool. Cut the lotus leaves as best you can into roughly equilateral triangles, with sides about 12cm long. It doesn't matter if these are irregular, as long as they don't have holes which will let the filling escape. You can use a few ragged bits of lotus leaf to line the steamer if you like - discard the rest. You should end up with about twenty triangles.

Prepare the aromatic rice meal: place the rice and Sichuan peppercorn in a skillet and stir over a moderate flame for 10-15 minutes, until the rice grains are brittle, yellowish and slightly fragrant. Remove from the wok and leave to cool.

When the rice is cold, grind it in a food processor until it is of a coarse consistency, like cous-cous, not powder-fine.

Make green onion paste: Lay the green onion (green tops only) on a chopping-board, chop them finely. Scatter with the Sichuan pepper, and use a cleaver or a herb chopper to reduce them to a fine paste.

In a large bowl, add the pork belly with all the marinade ingredients, mix well and leave to stand for about 15 minutes. ● Sichuanese fermented rice 1tbsp / 15ml ● Sweet soy sauce 1tbsp / 15ml ● Shaoxing wine 2tbsp / 30ml ● Green onions paste 2oz / 55g ● Five Spice Powder 1tsp / 3g ● Light soy sauce 1tbsp / 15ml ● Sweet bean paste 1tbsp / 15ml ● Rice meal 5oz / 140g ● Rock sugar 1tbsp / 15g ● Chicken Stock ¼cup / 60ml ● Ginger, minced ½oz / 15g ● Fermented bean curd 1tbsp / 15ml

Lay a triangle of lotus leaf on your work surface with its base facing towards you. Place on it two or three slices of pork, making sure they include a good mix of fat and lean. Press a few Edamame beans (6 or 7) in-between the meat.

Fold the two base corners of the triangle into the centre of the leaf, and then roll away from you to make a small, rectangular parcel. Lay the parcel fold-side down and tie it with reed leave strip. Repeat with the rest of the meat.

To cook, lay the parcels in the base of your steamer and steam over water at a good rolling boil for 90 minutes.

Allow your guests to unwrap the parcels and eat directly out of the lotus leaves.

Enjoy!