Chinese Lion's Head Soup Recipe

Lion’s Head Soup is a classic Chinese stewed meatball dish. It’s called “Lion’s Head” because the meatballs resemble the heads of Chinese guardian lions. There are a few different varieties of Lion’s Head Soup, but I wanted to go with the more classic version of pork meatballs and cabbage.

Traditionally, this dish is made with pork that is 50% fat, but I couldn’t find that in my standard supermarket. I also didn’t want that much fat in my dish, so I used ground pork that was 20% fat.

If you want an even softer texture to your meatball, then you’ll want to use pork with more fat. The meatballs will still turn out just as delicious, even if you don’t use super fatty pork!

When you add the cabbage to the pot, it won’t all fit in the soup at once. I recommend adding the thicker white part of the cabbage first and then the leafy part on top. That way, the thicker part has more time to cook, since the leafy part cooks really quickly. You may need to rearrange your meatballs to make room for the cabbage.

Ingredients
For the Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 to 3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp minced green onion
1 tsp minced ginger root
10 minced water chestnuts
3/4 cup cold water

For the Soup

Napa cabbage
Glass noodles
Chicken stock
Lion's Head Meatballs

Instructions
Make the Meatballs

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Take a large chunk of meat (whatever size you desire your meatballs to be), and roll into the shape of a ball in between you palms. Traditionally the meatballs for the casserole dish are very big. But for the soup, they should be a bit smaller, about 2 inches in diameter.
3. Fry the meatballs in a pan of hot oil, until meatball is fully cooked.

Make the Soup

1. Soak dried glass noodles in a large bowl of water and set aside. The glass noodles I buy are usually separated into little individual bundles. I used 4 bundles, but it really depends on how much you want to use. By soaking them in water first, when you put the noodles in your soup, it won't soak up all the soup liquid as it sits in the soup.
2. Chop napa cabbage into bite-sized pieces. I used about 7 napa cabbage leaves.
3. Boil 8-10 cups of chicken stock in a large pot.
4. After the chicken stock is boiling, add in the already cooked lion's head meatballs. I put in 10 meatballs. Cook for approximately 15 minutes on a low boil. Add in napa cabbage and glass noodles, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and serve.