Lion's Head Meatballs from Made Here

"Lion's head meatballs are large pork meatballs that take their name from their size and shape-when served with their traditional accompaniment of cabbage, the round meatball charmingly resembles a Chinese guardian lion's head, and the cabbage leaves its mane. Lion's head meatballs are often served at celebrations or banquets, since they're visually impressive and it's easy to make enough to feed a crowd."

- Made Here

While the environment looks casual and fun, this is what it looks like to be locked in - a true king or queen of your environment.

We take advantage of all our resources and make mealtime feel like a celebration. It helps that we're making lion's head meatballs or qīng dùn shī zi tóu.

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Made Here

This lion's head meatballs recipe comes from Kris Kuo's Taiwan Bear House in Chinatown and is shared in Made Here: Recipes & Reflections From NYC's Asian Communities by Send Chinatown Love.

Lion's head is a traditional dish of Huaiyang cuisine, one of the Four Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine (a pre-cursor to the modern-day Eight Cuisines). Also known as Su cuisine, it is slightly sweet and almost never spicy, showcasing the flavor of the base ingredients.

Lion's Head Meatballs

Ingredients

• cabbage - 1 small cabbage for the broth
• ginger - 1 inch for the broth and ½ inch for the meatballs
• mushroom - 1 dried shiitake mushroom is preferred
• kombu - dried kelp, can be found sold in sheets
• salt - for the broth and the meatballs, use a salt tiger for fun
• pork - ground pork, preferably 80% lean, 20% fat
• soy sauce - or tamari
• rice wine
• garlic - a few cloves for these large lion's head meatballs
• cilantro - for garnish
• scallions - for garnish

Equipment

• prep bowls
• vegetable peeler
• butcher block
• Santoku knife or chef knife
• stock pot
• spider strainer or fine mesh strainer
• ladle

Prep the Vegetables

Wash your hands with soap and water. Use a peeler to peel the ginger. Use a knife and cutting board to chop the cabbage and cilantro, mince the garlic, and slice the scallions and ginger.

Mince the ginger for the meatballs. Place everything in clean bowls and set aside.

Boil the Cabbage

Add water to a large pot and bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and stir. Drop the cabbage into the pot. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove the cabbage with a spider strainer and set it aside. Discard the water.

John ran point on this one, serving in a supervisory capacity - answering questions & offering tips.

Make the Broth

Add 10 cups of water to the pot. Add the sliced ginger, mushroom, kelp, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Heat over medium-high heat. Let it simmer for 45 minutes to 2 hours.

Don't boil the kombu. It will make the broth bitter.

Strain the Broth

Use a spider strainer to remove the ginger, mushroom, and kelp.

Make the Meatballs

Use your hands to combine the pork, soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, and salt in a large bowl.

Shape the Meatballs

Form the meat mixture into 4-6 tennis ball-sized meatballs.

Cook the Meatballs in the Stock

Gently drop the meatballs into the stock and cook for 20 minutes, until buoyant and tender.

Serve Lion's Head Meatballs

Transfer some cabbage to a soup bowl. Place a meatball on top. Ladle some broth into the bowl until the meatball is partially submerged. Top with the scallions and cilantro. Enjoy!

Made herr!