I have been wanting to make Lions Head Balls for sometime now. Since we moved to Japan I have started cooking a LOT of Chinese dishes...umm, there is no logic. I think just the moo being older and me being more organised with my shopping means I am cooking better, enjoying it more and really enjoying the eating!! I use Kylie Kwongs cookbook (My China) a lot and have adopted her basic flavours in addition to the ones I use almost exclusively for Chinese food, that being garlic, ginger, soy sauce and shao hsing wine. She uses brown sugar and brown rice vinegar a lot and I have started to add them and gee, what a taste sensation!! Above is the start of lions head balls, so called because the cabbage is supposed to look like a lions mane. This is kind of more Hong Kong style food. It is so easy, it just takes some time to cook. So, the pork mince has some flavours, ginger, garlic, sugar, spring onions, mixed into it and then roll the balls in cornflour and fry for a few minutes.
The pot is lined with leaves (I think its to prevent sticking). I also steamed the wrapping leaves to make them easier to put around the meatballs.
I made my own chicken stock and added soy and more shao hsing wine and simmered for approx 1.5 hrs.
This is the end result. The verdict is quite tasty but with a huge meatball the minced pork was a bit too meaty/dryish so next time I will hand chop my own mince and add some vege like water chestnut and a few prawns to mix up the texture/taste. It was quite fun meal to make and a pretty cheap, it just needs some time to cook and prepare but even with a 2 year old running between my legs I could do it.
I have been wanting to make Lions Head Balls for sometime now. Since we moved to Japan I have started cooking a LOT of Chinese dishes...umm, there is no logic. I think just the moo being older and me being more organised with my shopping means I am cooking better, enjoying it more and really enjoying the eating!! I use Kylie Kwongs cookbook (My China) a lot and have adopted her basic flavours in addition to the ones I use almost exclusively for Chinese food, that being garlic, ginger, soy sauce and shao hsing wine. She uses brown sugar and brown rice vinegar a lot and I have started to add them and gee, what a taste sensation!! Above is the start of lions head balls, so called because the cabbage is supposed to look like a lions mane. This is kind of more Hong Kong style food. It is so easy, it just takes some time to cook. So, the pork mince has some flavours, ginger, garlic, sugar, spring onions, mixed into it and then roll the balls in cornflour and fry for a few minutes.
The pot is lined with leaves (I think its to prevent sticking). I also steamed the wrapping leaves to make them easier to put around the meatballs.
I made my own chicken stock and added soy and more shao hsing wine and simmered for approx 1.5 hrs.
This is the end result. The verdict is quite tasty but with a huge meatball the minced pork was a bit too meaty/dryish so next time I will hand chop my own mince and add some vege like water chestnut and a few prawns to mix up the texture/taste. It was quite fun meal to make and a pretty cheap, it just needs some time to cook and prepare but even with a 2 year old running between my legs I could do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment