Lion’s Head Meatballs
In China, there are many different versions of lion’s head meatballs. Some are braised in a soy sauce mixture; some are served in chicken broth instead of with rice. This version is browned in a sauté pan, then steamed. The meatballs turn out extremely tender and flavorful, considering a lot of the fat has been cooked out. Assembling the meatballs is quite easy, as long as you follow the steps of adding the ingredients in the specific order. The meatball mix is going to be a lot wetter than what most people are used to. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to equally divide out the meatball mix. Gently roll them into large meatballs. If they are too wet, add a little more breadcrumbs.Since these meatballs are a lot larger then normal, they won’t cook through when they are being browned. That is all right. As long as they are browned on all sides, they will finish cooking in a steamer pot for the last 30 minutes. These meatballs can be stacked on top of each other if the steamer pot isn’t large enough to have a single layer. Serve the meatball with steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup water chestnuts diced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp vegeyable oil
Instructions
- Mix the ground pork with the water.
- Mix in the cooking wine, soy sauces, salt, sugar, ginger, cornstarch, and green onions.
- Mix in the eggs and water chestnuts
- Mix in the sesame oil and panko breadcrumbs.
- Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop up the pork mixture and gently roll into meatballs.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown the meatballs for 5-6 minutes on each side.
- Bring up a large steamer pot to a boil. Line with parchment paper. Add in the meatballs. Steam covered for 30 minutes.
