Chinese Lion's Head pork meatballs with Napa cabbage and vermicelli served in a light savory broth.

China • Regional Dish • Side Dish

Lion’s Head Meatballs (Shīzi Tóu)

Lion’s Head Meatballs sound ferocious. Dinner is gentler: oversized pork meatballs, crisp water chestnuts and Napa cabbage simmered in savory broth with vermicelli. Big, tender, deeply comforting – and much easier than the name suggests.

Servings4
Prep Time25 min
Cook Time35 min
DifficultyModerate
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Instructions

  1. Place the scallion whites and sliced ginger in a small bowl. Pour in the warm water and let stand for about 10 minutes. Strain, reserving both the infused water and the aromatics.
  2. Soak the mung bean vermicelli in warm water according to the package directions until flexible but not fully soft. Drain and set aside.
  3. Put the ground pork in a large bowl. Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, egg and cornstarch. Stir in one direction while gradually adding the scallion-ginger water until the mixture looks sticky and holds together.
  4. Fold in the chopped water chestnuts. Divide the pork mixture into four equal portions. With damp hands, gently shape each portion into a large ball without packing it tightly.
  5. Heat the peanut oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning carefully, until golden on several sides, about 6 to 8 minutes total. They don’t need to cook through yet.
  6. Arrange the thick Napa cabbage stems across the bottom of a Dutch oven or wide heavy pot. Set the browned meatballs on top. Add the reserved scallion and ginger aromatics.
  7. Pour in the chicken broth and add the remaining soy sauce and white pepper. Bring just to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook gently for about 20 minutes.
  8. Add the leafy Napa cabbage around and over the meatballs. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.
  9. Add the drained vermicelli and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles are tender and have absorbed some of the broth. Taste the broth and add salt only if needed.
  10. Check that the center of the meatballs reaches 160°F/71°C. Transfer the meatballs, cabbage, noodles and broth to a large serving bowl and finish with the sliced scallion greens. Serve hot.

Cultural Context

Lion’s Head Meatballs, or shīzitóu, are associated with Huaiyang cooking from eastern China, especially Jiangsu, and are also closely linked with Shanghai-style home cooking. The dish features unusually large pork meatballs served with greens, either in a clear broth or a darker soy-based braise. Their size and banquet-table presence make them a natural celebration dish, and they’re often served for festive meals, including Lunar New Year gatherings. The exact origin story matters less than the visual idea behind the name: the meatball suggests a lion’s head, while the surrounding cabbage can resemble its mane.

Fun Fact

There is no lion in Lion’s Head Meatballs. The name is visual: one enormous meatball is said to resemble the head of a Chinese guardian lion, while the surrounding cabbage suggests the mane. It’s one of those dish names that sounds alarming right up until dinner arrives.

Cook’s Tip

Use ground pork with about 20% fat; lean pork can make these large meatballs dry and firm. Canned water chestnuts are convenient and work well, though fresh are excellent if available. Dry sherry is the easiest substitute for Shaoxing wine; for an alcohol-free version, omit it and add an extra tablespoon of broth. Use tamari only if you also need a gluten-free soy sauce, and check the Shaoxing wine label because some brands contain wheat. Mung bean vermicelli is the best fit, but sweet potato glass noodles can also work. Bok choy can replace some of the Napa cabbage.

The two biggest risks are dense meatballs and broken meatballs. Don’t use very lean pork, and don’t compact the mixture as you shape it. At the same time, stir the pork long enough to become noticeably sticky before adding the water chestnuts; that stickiness helps the oversized meatballs hold together.

Brown them gently and turn with two spoons or a flexible spatula rather than chasing them around the pan. Once they’re in the broth, keep the liquid at a quiet simmer rather than a hard boil. These are unusually large meatballs, so an instant-read thermometer is useful: the center should reach 160 F/71 C before serving.

Trivia

Lion’s Head Meatballs don’t have one fixed presentation. Some versions are red-braised in a darker soy-rich sauce; others arrive in a light broth with Napa cabbage, and some include glass noodles. The oversized meatball is the constant. Subtlety was apparently not the naming committee’s assignment.

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