Lion's Head Meatballs - Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet

Lion’s Head Meatballs

BOOKMARK

DELICIOUS

Description

Lion’s Head Meatballs is a flavourful winter dish from Huaiyang cuisine. The giant meatballs are said to represent a lion’s head and the shredded cabbage represents its’ mane. This dish is perfect to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The oversized meatballs are traditionally served on a platter and diners scoop off a portion of the meatball along with some sauce and cabbage. To celebrate Chinese New Year this is a fun way to serve this recipe but for everyday, I divide the meat mixture into six meatballs making it a bit easier to cook and serve.

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The Joy of Cookbooks

Some people still love cookbooks and I’m one of them. Sure, I Google recipes all the time but I have several shelves of cookbooks and the one that inspired my love of Asian and Asian Fusion cooking is Hugh Carpenter’s Pacific Flavors. Years ago I attended one of his cooking classes and when he signed my book he recommended the Lion’s Head Meatballs. Of course I went home and made them since no long list of ingredients deters me. This is my gluten free adaptation from his book and I am grateful for his suggestion. I think that you’ll agree it is worth the effort once you taste it.

Organize For Success

To cook and enjoy a variety of interesting meals you need a well-stocked pantry. Then it’s nice to have at least a few favourite recipes that use those ingredients. I wrote an entire post on what you might put in your gluten free Asian pantry so you can check that out. Here are a few recipes in case you need more convincing to add something to your pantry.

-I use gluten free oyster sauce in my everyday stir fry

A bowl of my everyday Vegetable Stir Fry served on rice — Everyday Vegetable Stir Fry -photo credit Jim Little

-I buy W&H Dry Sack sherry at the liquor store and use it in this Asian salad dressing

Garden Greens with Asian Dressing and Crispy Bean Thread Noodles -photo credit Jim Little

-I use sesame oil in lots or recipes including this noodle salad.

A bowl full of a gluten free Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad — Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad -photo credit Jim Little

-Soy sauce is now a staple ingredient in every North American kitchen (isn’t it?). I hosted a soy sauce vs tamari tasting to find my favourite gluten free brand and I served this sushi pizza for the tasting.

Gluten free soy sauce vs tamari tasting — Gluten Free Soy Sauce vs Tamari Tasting -photo credit Jim Little

Canned foods in the pantry can be a life saver too. They sometimes remind me to make a dish or stretch it a bit when I’m short on fresh veggies. I like to have a can of water chestnuts in the back of my cupboard for this recipe. They add a nice crunch and unique taste to these meatballs and then I use them up in my everyday stir-fry. You can freeze them too.

Chinese New Year only comes once a year but you can make this dish anytime. Let me know in the comments below if you tried this recipe and if you made the giant lion’s head meatballs.

Ingredients

6 dried black Chinese mushrooms

3 green onions, finely chopped

6 water chestnuts, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp finely minced ginger

1 Tbsp cornstarch (and more for dusting meatballs)

2 Tbsp dry sherry

1 Tbsp GF soy sauce

1 Tbsp GF oyster sauce

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp pepper

1 lb ground pork

CABBAGE & COOKING

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

6 cups shredded green cabbage

SAUCE

1½ cups GF chicken stock

¼ cup dry sherry

2 Tbsp GF oyster sauce

1 Tbsp GF soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp pepper

FINISHING - 2 Tbsp cornstarch & 2 Tbsp water

Directions

1: MEATBALLS
2: Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms to cover and let soak for 20 minutes to soften. Discard the stems and finely chop mushroom caps.
3: In a large bowl combine mushrooms, green onions, water chestnuts, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, dry sherry, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper.
4: Add ground pork and gently mix until combined. Form mixture into 3 giant meatballs or smaller ones if you prefer. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5: SAUCE
6: Combine all sauce ingredients in a 2-cup pyrex measuring cup.
7: In a small dish whisk 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water. Set aside.
8: Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of cornstarch over the meatballs. Gently toss the meatballs between your hands until they are lightly coated with cornstarch.
9: COOKING
10: Heat a large pan over high heat. When hot add 2 Tbsp oil. When the oil is hot add the meatballs. Cook until nicely browned gently turning them as they brown, about 8 minutes.
11: Transfer meatballs to a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Pour sauce on top and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
12: CABBAGE & SERVING
13: Just before the meatballs are done cook the cabbage.
14: In the pan you cooked the meatballs (or a clean pan) add 2 Tbsp of oil and place over high heat.
15: When hot add the cabbage and stir-fry 3-5 minutes until slightly wilted.
16: Spread cabbage on a serving platter. Remove meatballs from sauce and place on top of cabbage. Set aside while you thicken the sauce.
17: Add cornstarch/water mixture to the hot sauce and whisk until thickened, 1-2 minutes.
18: Pour some of the sauce over the meatballs and serve the remainder on the side.