Lion's head

Lion's head (紅燒獅子頭) is a Shanghai-style dish consisting of giant meatballs stewed with napa cabbage. The cabbage, stained golden-brown by the soy sauce, and the meatball together resemble a lion's head.

Recipe

The following is a rough outline for creating Lion's head. Consult Chinese cookbooks for detailed instructions.

• Dice scallions and water chestnuts.
• Mix ground pork with the scallions, water chestnuts, soy sauce, cracker pieces, and one's choice of either egg yolk and white or corn starch.
• Grab a handful of the mixture. Shape it as a jumbo meatball. Throw the meatball between one's hands several times.
• Coat the outside of the meatball with one's choice of either egg yolk and white or corn starch.
• Semi-deep fry the meatball untill the entire meatball is golden brown.
• Fry additional meatballs as needed.
• Put the meatballs with napa cabbage and soup stock into a pot. Set the pot to boil and then simmer for one hour.