16.297 Lion’s Head Meatballs

Cycle 16 – Item 297

POST 5,776

29 (Wed) October 2025

Lion’s Head Meatballs

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with IZ

Lion’s Head is a Chinese dish.  Meatballs, typically pork (sometimes beef), braised with napa cabbage in a light soy sauce broth.  The name derives from the meatball’s resemblance to a Chinese guardian lion, further accentuated by the cabbage leaves, representing the lion’s mane.

From a recipe by Sue Li in The New York Times, accompanied by a YouTube video (see How to Make the Best Meatballs (With Any Meat!))

For future reference, the ingredients are listed here, converted to metric.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g ground pork
  • 200 g silken tofu
  • 1 egg
  • 2 chopped scallions
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 TB vegetable oil
  • 1 TB cornstarch
  • 1 TB + 1 cup water
  • 1 + 1 TB soy sauce
  • 1 small head napa cabbage

She used a lot more cabbage in the video than I had, following the “small”descriptor in the recipe.

After searing the meatballs in a soy sauce cornstarch slurry, they’re braised between layers of cabbage leaves.

Very nice.  Beyond the initial hassle of making meatballs, the rest of the cook was set-it-forget-it easy.  The sear facilitated a nice color and texture to the meat, as well as flavor.  The cabbage leaves were tender and tasty – definitely need more next time.  The broth, now a thickish sauce, was delicate and delicious – perfect with steamed rice.  My kind of dish.

With a side of pak boong fai daeng.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

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