Lion’s head pork meatballs

Your ingredients

Get ready: Bowls, saucepan suitable for deep-frying, second lidded pot, slotted spoon and food/oil thermometer.

• 🥬Meatballs: 2 spring onions
• 🥣Meatballs: 1 thumb-sized ginger
• 🥩Meatballs: 400 g minced pork, with 20% fat or higher
• 🍗Meatballs: 100 g minced chicken
• 💧Meatballs: 2 tbsp unsalted stock, instead of cooking wine
• 🥣Meatballs: 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 🥣Meatballs: ½ tsp salt
• 🍯Meatballs: ½ tsp sugar
• 🥜Meatballs: ½ tsp sesame oil
• 🥚Meatballs: 1 large egg
• 🍚Meatballs: 1 tbsp cornflour
• 🥜Meatballs: 60 ml water chestnut, minced
• 🥣Meatballs: Cooking oil for deep frying
• 🥬Soup: 7 pieces Napa cabbage leaves, cut in halves crosswise
• 🍄Soup: 6 large dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in 500ml water overnight
• 🦐Soup: ½ tbsp dried shrimp, optional
• 🥣Soup: ¼ tsp salt, or to taste
• 🌶️Soup: 1 pinch ground white pepper

Let’s make it

1. Prepare the flavourings

   Soak shiitake in 500 ml water overnight in the fridge. Infuse spring onion and ginger in 6 tbsp warm water and cool. Keep both the aromatic solids and water.

2. Mix the meat

   Stir pork and chicken mince with stock in place of wine, soy sauce, meat salt and sugar, sesame oil, egg and cornflour. Gradually add cooled aromatic water, stirring until sticky, then fold in chopped water chestnuts.

3. Shape and brown

   Divide into six large balls. With adult help, heat suitable frying oil to 180°C in a deep pan no more than one-third full. Lower in one or two balls at a time and turn until golden. They are not fully cooked yet. Lift with a slotted spoon.

4. Set up the simmer

   Line another pot with cabbage stems. Add meatballs, sliced mushrooms, clear soaking liquid, infused ginger and spring onion, optional dried shrimp and soup seasoning.

5. Cook through

   Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Add cabbage leaves and cook another 5 minutes or longer until the centre of every meatball reaches 75°C for 30 seconds. Serve with the broth.