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.
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.
(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See HANSIK)