Dinner · 90 min · chinese

Lions Head Meatballs

This is the kind of Chinese dinner you’ll make on repeat — ground pork and napa cabbage, 90 minutes, big payoff.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Ground pork
• 0.5 head Napa cabbage
• 4 oz Water chestnuts
• 1 Egg
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 4 cups Chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Fresh ginger
• 4 Scallions

Steps

1. Chop the water chestnuts to a coarse dice and mince the ginger; small, even pieces keep the meatballs tender instead of dense.
2. Mix the pork with the water chestnuts, ginger, egg, cornstarch, soy, and wine. Stir briskly in one direction until the mixture turns sticky and pulls away from the bowl — that tackiness is what holds a lions head together.
3. Wet your hands and roll four large meatballs, each about the size of a tennis ball. They should be big; the name is a boast, not a suggestion.
4. Line a deep pot with the napa cabbage leaves and nestle the meatballs on top. Pour over the stock, bring to a gentle boil, then skim.
5. Cover and braise on low 60 minutes, turning the meatballs once. The cabbage melts into silk and the pork turns spoon-tender.
6. Spoon a meatball with plenty of cabbage and broth into each bowl. Serve over rice — the broth is too good to leave behind.

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