People throw out the term "melt-in-your-mouth" pretty casually, but these meatballs really are. Some people think the name comes from their large size, while others believe eating these gives you the strength of a lion, but the actual answer is not quite as mythical. The look of this crinkled-up napa cabbage reminded the inventors of this dish of a lion's mane.
Lion's Head Meatballs Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
- ¼ cup minced canned water chestnuts
- 1 (8 ounce) container firm tofu, chopped into small bits
- 1 pound fatty ground pork (at least 20% fat)
- ¼ cup finely sliced green onions (white and light green parts only)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry (see Note)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 small head napa cabbage
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sherry wine
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup sliced green onion tops
- 2 tablespoons hot chili oil
Lion's Head Meatballs Cook Instructions
Prep30m
Cook45m
Ready In1h75m
Servings6 servings
- Pour boiling water over shiitake mushrooms, and let sit until soft enough to slice, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, combine chestnuts and tofu in a large bowl. Add ground pork, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Pour in rice wine, soy sauce, salt, cayenne, brown sugar, and egg. Dust with cornstarch. Mix with a clean hand until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Form mixture into 6 large meatballs with wet hands.
- Set an oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and oil lightly. Place meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil in the preheated oven until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while prepping the pot.
- Trim off the bottom of the head of cabbage and slice 1/2 of the head. Arrange sliced cabbage on the bottom of a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Arrange the remaining leaves on the top. Slice and scatter the mushrooms on top of the cabbage; reserve shiitake liquid. Nestle the meatballs into the cabbage leaves and pour juices over.
- Strain reserved shiitake liquid into a bowl. Add chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Whisk until dissolved. Add to the pot, pouring over each meatball. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover and raise heat to medium-high. Continue cooking, basting the meatballs often, until liquid reduces slightly and meatballs are no longer pink in the centers, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
- Ladle into serving bowls and arrange cabbage over the meatballs. Top with green onions and chili oil.
Lion's Head Meatballs Nutritions
- Calories: 315.4 calories
- Carbohydrate: 18.5 g
- Cholesterol: 82.1 mg
- Fat: 18.1 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 20.6 g
- SaturatedFat: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 1607.8 mg
- Sugar: 7.4 g
