Steamed "Pearl" Pork Balls (Zhenzhu Wan or Zhenzhu Qiu)

A favorite snack/appetizer that both my mom and grandmother excelled at, Pearl Balls are basically meat balls made from ground pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, with a bit of chopped scallions and water chestnuts, coated with glutinous rice and steamed for about 30 minutes. Not all recipes call for this, but I also like to add some chopped shiitake mushrooms to the meatball mixture. The pearly white sheen from the glutinous rice coating is what gives this dish its name. Great for either a dim sum plate or main course. Btw, pearl balls also freeze well: after steaming, let them cool to room temp., place in a single layer in Ziploc-type bag(s), and put in the freezer. To reheat, you can either steam or microwave them.