Boulettes

Ingredients

Pork boulettes

• 400 gminced pork
• 2spring onions, chopped
• 1 tbspgrated ginger
• 2 tbspcornflour
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspsesame oil
• white pepper
• salt

Fish boulettes

• 400 gwhite fish, minced
• 1egg white
• 2 tbspcornflour
• white pepper

Chouchou boulettes

• 400 gchayote, grated and squeezed dry
• 100 gminced pork
• 2 tbspcornflour

Broth

• 1.5 litreschicken or pork stock
• 3cm ginger, sliced
• 2spring onions
• white pepper
• salt

To serve

• chopped spring onion
• fried garlic oil
• chilli paste and soy sauce, at the table

Directions

1. Mix the minced meat or fish with the seasonings and then beat it hard against the side of the bowl. Pick up the mixture and throw it back into the bowl repeatedly, twenty or thirty times. Now the cornflour, which helps bind.
2. Keep everything cold while you work. Cold mixture binds far better than warm, and warm minced meat goes greasy and loses its bounce.
3. Chill the bowl and the mixture between stages if it warms up. Now the chouchou version, which needs different handling. Grate the chayote and squeeze it out hard in a cloth. Squeeze it genuinely dry, then bind it with a little pork and cornflour.
4. Roll the mixture into balls with wet hands, or use two spoons. Keep them small, about the size of a walnut, since they are eaten several at a time from a bowl.
5. Set the boulettes on oiled baking paper or cabbage leaves in a steamer. Steam them for eight to twelve minutes depending on size. Do not overcook them, since they go dense and rubbery rather than springy. Cut one open before serving the rest: it should be cooked through with no raw centre and it should spring back when pressed.
6. Simmer a good stock with ginger and spring onion and season it with salt and white pepper. Keep it clear, skimming as it simmers. Put the steamed boulettes in a bowl and ladle the hot clear broth over them.
7. Scatter chopped spring onion over and add a little fried garlic oil. The boulettes freeze well raw and are steamed from frozen with a few extra minutes.

Technique

• They came with Hakka and Cantonese migrants to Mauritius.
• Beating and throwing the mixture is what gives the springy texture.
• Chouchou, grated chayote, must be squeezed genuinely dry.

Substitutions

• Any white fish for the fish version.
• Courgette in place of chayote, squeezed just as dry.

Variations

• Boulettes chouchou, made with chayote.
• Boulettes poisson, made with white fish.
• Served dry with sauce rather than in broth.

History

Steamed dumplings from Sino-Mauritian Hakka and Cantonese migrants, served in broth and eaten with chili and soy at boulette shops.

Frequently asked questions

What is Boulettes?

Boulettes is a street food from Mauritius: sino-Mauritian steamed dumplings served in clear broth. Steamed dumplings from Sino-Mauritian Hakka and Cantonese migrants, served in broth and eaten with chili and soy at boulette shops.

How long does Boulettes take to make?

Boulettes takes 45 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Boulettes?

Yes, within limits. Any white fish for the fish version. Courgette in place of chayote, squeezed just as dry.

What is the most important thing to get right in Boulettes?

Set the boulettes on oiled baking paper or cabbage leaves in a steamer. Steam them for eight to twelve minutes depending on size. Do not overcook them, since they go dense and rubbery rather than springy. Cut one open before serving the rest: it should be cooked through with no raw centre and it should spring back when pressed.