Nai Nai’s Lion’s Head (Shīzitóu)

A quick heads-up before you start: this is my mom’s personal recipe so the measurements here are made by feel rather than being super precise.

Instructions

Step 1: Mix the Meatball Base Place your ground pork into a large mixing bowl. Add a few splashes of white cooking wine and a couple of dashes of sea salt. Begin mixing this vigorously. You’ll wanna to mix it for a while to develop the texture. While you are mixing, crack in one egg and continue to mix thoroughly. Then, add three spoonfuls of cornstarch and give it another long, good mix.

Step 2: Add the Tofu Take a pause here. Open up your 1-pound block of medium-firm tofu and mash it up well with a fork. Add the mashed tofu into the pork mixture. Pour in a splash of soy sauce and a tiny bit of cooking oil to help soften the mixture. Then, dive in with your hands and mix everything together. Yeah, lots of mixing. And while you’re mixing, your fingers will no doubt get really, really cold.

Step 3: Shape and Flash-Fry To keep the meat from sticking to you, rub a little oil on your hands for lubrication. Grab a portion of the meat mixture and roll it into a sphere about the size of a mini hamburger, then smoosh it down just a little bit. (Note: This recipe should make approximately 18-19 meatballs). Heat a pan with some oil and flash-fry the meatballs just to brown the outsides. You don’t need to cook them all the way through—they will finish cooking in the broth later. Once browned, set them aside.

Step 4: Prep the Napa Cabbage Take your Napa cabbage and quarter it. Cut out the hard core in the middle and discard it. Split your prepped cabbage leaves into two equal batches, as we will be using two different pans for this next step.

Step 5: The Two-Pans

• Pan 1 (The Sauté): Heat some oil, add the first half of the cabbage, and a splash of soy sauce. Sauté until the cabbage is nicely cooked down.
• Pan 2 (The Stewing Pot): In a large, deep pot or pan, heat a little oil and add the second half of the raw cabbage to create a bed. Pour in your bowl of chicken broth.

Step 6: Assemble and Stew Place all of your browned meatballs gently on top of the raw cabbage bed in Pan 2. Next, take all of the sautéed cabbage from Pan 1 and overlay it right on top of the meatballs. Add dashes of light and dark soy sauce over the top to taste.

Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for at least two hours. When it’s done, get it when it’s real hot. I serve it on top of white rice and sprinkle some chopped green onions on the top.

Enjoy!