Lion's Head Meatball Soup

I may be in sunny California, but as soon as it turns dark, I still get the occasional shiver as the chilly spring breezes battle valiantly to fend off the advancing forces of the summer heat. Tonight, especially, is one of those nights when I would like nothing more than to wrap my cold, clammy hands around a bowl of hot soup and sink my teeth into something meaty. It didn't take long for my noggin to remind me of a dish I had seen at someone else's table on a recent visit to a Shanghai cuisine restaurant - Lion's Head Meatball Soup. Yes ! That should do the trick :)

If you are unfamiliar with "Lion's Head Meatballs", they aren't really meatballs made from lion's heads. This popular Shanghai dish got it's name from the resemblance of the meatball to a lion's head and the accompanying napa cabbage to it's wavy mane. Funny thing is, as I was shaping the meatballs, my mind was actually conjuring up a visual of the movie "Monster's Ball" starring Simba (from "The Lion King") instead of Halle Berry... haha. Luckily, my meatballs turned out looking more like Simba's head than Halle's boobs... I think. Okay... I really should stop thinking out loud :P

Anyway, enough about disturbing and odd visuals and on to the recipe. Instead of napa cabbage, I've chosen to go with baby bok choy for it's crisper texture and sweeter flavor for the soup. The "fattiness" of the ground pork used will literally make or break the meatball. If it's too lean, the meatball will be dry and tough. Too much fat and it will be mushy and break easily. From personal experience, I've discovered that it's tastier, not to mention healthier, to use leaner ground pork. To offset the toughness, I mash luncheon meat or Spam finely into the ground pork. That not only makes the meatball bouncier without mushing it up, but also adds a very mild smoky flavor to boot. Try it, I'm sure you will enjoy my secret ingredient in your meatballs rather than your e-mail account :)

A) Meatball Recipe

Ingredients :
1 lb ground pork leg ( OR any lean part of pork eg. pork loin )
4 dried shitake mushroom ( soaked, rinsed and finely chopped )
finely chopped green onions
finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg
1 can of luncheon meat ( OR spam ) finely mashed
2 tbsp oyster sauce
sesame oil
white pepper
salt to taste
shaoxing cooking wine

Method :

1) Mix all the ingredients evenly and form into desired sized meatballs. Set aside.

B) Meatball Soup Recipe

Ingredients :
baby bok choy
bonito fish granules
chopped green onions
chopped chinese celery

Method :

1) Add bonito fish granules to boiling water in clay pot.
2) Slowly place meatballs in and simmer for 8 minutes.
3) Add baby bok choy, chopped green onions and chinese celery and simmer on medium heat for another 5-10 minutes.

Chinese BBQ Pork

I had a terrible experience the last time I had a craving for some "Char Siu" (Cantonese style BBQ Pork). After fighting an hour's worth of traffic to reach Chinatown and waiting in line for half more at my favorite BBQ restaurant "Sam Woo", I was left staring at the last piece of Char Siu which was practically screaming, "I'm dry and burnt, but I'm the last piece standing and you've come this far ......" And that was enough inspiration for making my own Chinese BBQ Pork nowadays whenever I have a craving for that sweet, sticky, tender hunk of "red" meat.

The choice of meat is on the top of my list when it comes to my BBQ Pork. For a leaner Char Siu, use pork cushion or pork loin. If you prefer it to be really tender (like I do), pork belly is the way to go. If you can't decide, start out with pork shoulder or pork butt, which is leaner than pork belly, yet quite marbly and moist.

Traditionally, Chinese BBQ Pork is skewered with long forks and roasted in ovens, which is how it's name is derived, "Char" and "Siu" in Cantonese respectively translate to "Fork" and "Roasted". However, I have discovered that pan-broiling the BBQ Pork like my Hainan Chicken on the stove-top is faster and the result is just as authentic.

Personally, I prefer my Chinese BBQ Pork with egg noodles tossed with the BBQ Pork caramel sauce. But its always great with plain white rice, fried rice, or as bun stuffings.

BBQ Pork Caramel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients :
4 tbsp maltose
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 tbsp Chinese rose wine ( OR regular shaoxing wine )
white pepper
sesame oil
salt to taste

Method :

1) To avoid sticking or burning onto the pan, cook all ingredients on a double boiler on medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, let it cool down and then set aside.

BBQ Pork Recipe

Ingredients :
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced shallot
2 lbs+ pork belly ( OR use pork loin OR pork shoulder)
caramel sauce

Method :

1) Fork the pork belly and rub the minced ingredients all over the meat.
2) Marinade the pork bellies with half to two thirds of a portion of the prepared caramel sauce over the meat, and then set aside for at least 20 minutes. ( preferably overnight )
3) Pan fry the marinated meat over medium-high heat until both sides are nicely browned, cover and let it cook on medium-low heat for an additional 20-30 minutes.
4) Baste some glaze over the meat 5 minutes before finish time.
5) Pour the remaining caramel sauce over the meat, before of after cutting the meat into serving size.