Lion’s Head Meatballs

I tried out this recipe and it tasted great, especially the soft cabbage which have soak up all the sauce. Meatball was juicy and tender. Goes well with rice or congee.

 

Lion’s Head Meatballs

makes 6 large meatballs

1 ½ lbs. ground pork

5 scallions

1 5” knob of ginger, sliced

1/2 cup water chestnuts, coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 cup dark soy sauce, divided

3 tbsp light soy sauce, divided

3 tbsp Shao Xing wine, divided

2 tsps toasted sesame oil

1 large egg, beaten

¼ cup cornstarch, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging

vegetable oil, for frying

4 cloves garlic, whole

small piece of rock sugar (or about 1 ½ tsp light brown sugar)

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

12 leaves of napa cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces

6-8 pieces fried tofu puffs (you dou fu)

1/4 cup water

Juice the scallions and the ginger. You will end up with about 3 tbsp of liquid. Set aside. If you end up with more than 3 tbsp of the juice, you can discard the rest. (If you don’t have a juicer, I am afraid you’ll have to smash and dice up the scallions and ginger, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.)
Finely chop the ground pork for about 20-30 minutes (hint: I use two cleavers!). Chopping the meat changes the texture significantly, and results in incredibly light, creamy meatballs. If you get tired, you can certainly chop the pork for a shorter amount of time.  Midway through chopping, moisten the pork with a little of the scallion/ginger juice. Continue chopping. When the juice is absorbed, add a little more juice. Continue until the pork has absorbed all the scallion/ginger juice.
Transfer the pork to a mixing bowl. Mix in the water chestnuts, 2 tbsp cornstarch, white pepper, and 1 tbsp each of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, Shao Xing wine and 2 tsps sesame oil. Mix in the egg.
Divide the pork into 6 meatballs, ~4 oz. each. Roll each meatball lightly in flour. In a large skillet, heat 1″ of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Gently lower each meatball into the oil, allowing them to brown and firm up on the bottom before turning. Keep frying until the meatballs are golden brown on all sides, a total of 4 minutes.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, lay the napa cabbage leaves in an even layer on the bottom. Gently place the meatballs on top of the cabbage, then place the tofu (if using) into the pot. Add the garlic and the rock sugar. Pour in the chicken stock, and the remaining dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and Shao Xing wine.

Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 1 hour, checking periodically and basting the sauce over the meatballs and tofu. Before serving, make a slurry with the remaining 2 tbsp cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Add it to the pot, and allow the sauce to bubble and thicken. Serve with rice.

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