Name: Lionhead meatball soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 100ml groundnut oil for frying; 500g lean pork mince; 4 garlic cloves finely minced; 2 tbsp grated ginger; 2 spring onions finely chopped; 1 pinch of ground white pepper; 50ml shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry; 1 tbsp dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 egg beaten; 1 tbsp cornflour; 500ml vegetable stock; 5 dried Chinese mushrooms slices; 200g Chinese leaf washed, quartered lengthways from leaf to stem; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 pinch of ground white pepper; 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water; 2 large spring onions washed, trimmed and sliced, to serve

100ml groundnut oil
for frying

For the meatballs

500g lean pork mince
4 garlic cloves
finely minced
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 spring onions
finely chopped
1 pinch of ground white pepper
50ml shaoxing rice wine
or dry sherry
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 egg
beaten
1 tbsp cornflour

For the soup broth

500ml vegetable stock
5 dried Chinese mushrooms
slices
200g Chinese leaf
washed, quartered lengthways from leaf to stem
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 pinch of ground white pepper
1 tbsp cornflour
mixed with 1 tbsp water

To serve

2 large spring onions
washed, trimmed and sliced, to serve

Method

step 1
Put all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl and stir to combine well. Using wetted hands, take a golf ball-sized mound and roll into a round shape. Put on a plate and repeat to make 12.
step 2
Pour the groundnut oil into a large wok or pan and set over high heat until a thermometer reads 160C. Put a meatball onto a slotted spoon and gently lower into the oil. Leave to brown for 5-7 mins until golden, then cook all the meatballs. To check if a meatball is cooked, push a skewer through and, if it comes out clean, it’s cooked. Lift the meatballs out, then drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.
step 3
Add 1 tbsp of the hot oil to a clean wok. Put over a high heat, add the vegetable stock, 850ml water, the mushrooms and Chinese leaf, and cook over a medium heat for 10-12 mins. Add the meatballs and cook for a further 4-5 mins, adjusting the cabbage leaves so they wrap around each meatball – the meatball resembles the ‘lion's head’ and the cabbage resembles the ‘mane’. Season with sesame oil, salt and ground white pepper. To thicken the soup, add 1 tbsp of the cornflour mixture when the broth is boiling. Then turn the heat to low and garnish with the sliced spring onions.
step 4
Ladle a portion into soup bowls, spoon a meatball and with some Chinese leaf and sliced mushrooms, and serve immediately.