Ingredients
12 g Sichuan fritillary bulb, 6 snow pears, 100 g (about 1/2 cup) glutinous rice, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) candied winter melon strips.
Seasonings
180 g rock sugar (about 6.3 oz), alum to taste.
Instructions
1. Rinse the glutinous rice until clean, then steam it into cooked rice; dice the winter melon into soybean-sized pieces; crush the Sichuan fritillary bulb; dissolve the alum in water to make an alum solution.
2. Peel 6 snow pears, cut off a slice from the stem end of each to use as a lid, use a small knife to scoop out the cores, then submerge the pears in alum water to prevent discoloration. Blanch the pears in boiling water, remove and rinse in cold water to cool, then drain and place them in a bowl.
3. Divide the glutinous rice, candied winter melon strips, and an appropriate amount of rock sugar into 6 equal portions along with the Sichuan fritillary bulbs, then stuff each portion into one of the 6 snow pears, replace the stem lid, place them in bowls, and steam over boiling water in a steamer basket for about 50 minutes until the pears are very tender.
4. Bring 300 g (about 1 1/4 cups) of water to a rolling boil over high heat, then add the remaining rock sugar, stirring until dissolved and the syrup thickens; when the pears are taken out of the steamer, drizzle the syrup over each one.