Chinese Ground Pork Meatballs
📝About This Ground Pork Meatball Recipe
These Chinese Meatballs also called Lion’s Head Meatball is a classic dish loved in Southern China, especially around Shanghai. It’s affordable, tender, and a household staple, perfect with rice or noodles.
In this recipe, there’s a twist – the addition of apples. The apple’s sweet and sour notes mingle with the rich minced pork, creating a harmonious balance that’s both familiar and fresh.
I really enjoy Shanghai food because it brings back memories from my childhood. I make a lot of these meatballs and store them in the freezer, so I can easily heat them up whenever I want. They’re like my go-to comfort and fast food but without any processed additives.
Chinese Pork Meatballs
Ground Pork Meatballs
🔪 Instructions
Step One: Crafting The Meatballs
Blend for Flavor: Place the ginger, spring onion, and water into a blender. Blend until the mixture turns smooth.
Mix and infuse: In a generously sized bowl, combine the ginger and spring onion juice from the blender with the ground pork, apple, salt, white pepper powder, rice wine, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix these ingredients thoroughly with a spatula until the liquid is fully integrated.
Shape with Care: It’s time to give these flavorsome ingredients their signature form. Carefully shape the mixture into individual meatballs with your hands as your kitchen tools.
Step Two: Deep Frying the meatballs
In a non-stick pan over medium heat, heat oil and deep fry the meatballs until they turn a delicious golden brown.
Step Three: Braising the meatballs
Bring your deep-fried meatballs together with soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, ginger slices, star anise, and enough water to just cover them. As the mixture comes to a boil and then simmers for an hour.
Finish by thickening the sauce with a blend of cornstarch and water.
Asian oriental pork meatballs
Asian pork meatballs
🔍FAQs
Q: Can I adjust the sweetness level?
A: Absolutely. The amount of apple and sugar used can be adjusted to your preference. You can experiment with different types of apples to find the perfect balance between sweetness and tartness that suits your taste.
Q: Can I make these Chinese meatballs ahead of time?
A: Absolutely, this recipe is perfect for preparing ahead. Make a batch, freeze in portions, and warm up whenever you’re ready to enjoy.
Q: Can I cook these meatballs in a slow cooker?
A: Absolutely! You can braise them in the slow cooker as described in step three.
Q: What’s the best way to reheat leftover meatballs?
A: To reheat, gently warm the meatballs in a skillet with a bit of water or broth to prevent them from drying out. Alternatively, you can microwave them with a damp paper towel to maintain their moisture.
lionhead Meatballs
Lionhead meatball
Making these melt-in-your-mouth Chinese meatballs is a breeze, and the love is guaranteed.
Plus, with the convenience of batch cooking, your weeknight dinners just got a whole lot easier.
