How to Make Ultra-Tender Lion’s Head Meatballs (狮子头)

[@FrazierFinds]

He’s very calm. I like his style. Great recipe!

[@chefsteps]

We agree!

[@luizp1699]

I had a panic attack going on, and his calm helped me to go through it.

[@zootage]

Great video my man! Keep em coming

[@chefsteps]

That's the plan!

[@jdubs223]

i really enjoyed this video--thank you. the combination of a well thought out and executed recipe was refreshing and his explanations were logical and scientific while also highlighting the options he considered and downsides to missing steps. thanks for sharing!

[@chefsteps]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@amanic9986]

This looks incredible & he’s a great teacher.

[@delishuspear]

some of these people in the comments, lol. just make the damn meatball. enjoy it! it looks fire as hell, thank you ChefSteps and Tim!

[@leung9401]

I'm salivating... these look insanely delicious!

[@Sulamanjansulttaani]

As a juicy tender ball enthusiast i have the same reaction.

[@allie-381]

Wow I really needed this video! Not even a few days before this was published I tried recreating my grandma’s shi zi tou but it wasn’t quite right, think I just needed to braise them for the full 4 hours or try the ground pork belly method from this video. Great work!

[@chefsteps]

You can do it!

[@elisancon]

18:11 basically MSG. it's okay, you can say it :)

[@ChlorieHCl]

Chicken powder contains MSG but it's not 100% MSG. In the mixture there's also salt, multiple spices, and chicken extracts, and it has more of the umami flavor than just pure MSG.

[@MRCHEFMIKE23]

I will make these but smaller and put in a Soup ! nice recipe

[@TheHitsch202]

the potato croissant brought me on your channel. and i must say, i really enjoyed this video too! greatly explained and i do want to try it, but unfortunately I can't access the measurements of the recipe without a pass. nevertheless, i subscribed. great content!

[@Trin3of7]

Hello thank you for this recipe they look amazing and thank you for the instructions i am definitely going to try it Just a couple of questions Can you cook this recipe in the oven on the same temp over four hours I am guessing for more juices you just double the recipe. But i cant wait to try them i have never heard of these before

[@moving2fast2]

I remember Tim from ATK - glad he gets lots of screen time here! Great vid :)

[@fordhouse8b]

So that is why he looks familiar.

[@Boricheck]

Scuse me, but what is ATK? Glad to find more from this dude, seems like a super chill guy!

[@moving2fast2]

@@Boricheck America's Test Kitchen. They have a KZbin channel too. Tim appeared on a few segments over the years. (It was either ATK or Cook's Country, their sister publication)

[@marclegarreta]

@@moving2fast2I watch a lot of ATK, and I don’t remember him. But glad to seem him here. He’s great!

[@DC-fu4ff]

Need more Chinese cooking videos!

[@GregSzarama]

I would add some MSG. Thanks for the great video, Tim. I will make this for LNY.

[@savorykitchen_1103]

Chicken powder and oyster sauce is MSG. Soy sauces also give umami, not just color.

[@_EVANERV_]

For my personal recipe, I always use half ground pork, half hand cut pork (diced to 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch chunks). And to make the meatball even more tender and juicy, I also tend to mix in tofu. Depending on preference, you can use firm to medium firm tofu, but never silky tofu. Also to get the red color, I will fry brown sugar in oil to make an oily molasses, lower pot temperature, then I cook my aromatics for the braising liquid. If this step is done, I also cut the sugar in the braising liquid.

[@michael_cuisine]

U r a lion’s head pro

[@vikz5786]

Wow. Those look amazing. I'm trying this recipe 😆

[@chefsteps]

Please do! And let us know how they turn out!

[@gilesfone]

This chef is called Tim Chin, he has other stuff on chefsteps. Really good video, lots of info, delicious looking result. Well done all involved.

[@chefsteps]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@satanismybrother]

His turkey nug recipe is great.

[@rabbyt]

alright i wouldve never thought id see an asian dish on chef steps. im ALL for it. my mother loves lions head, i cant wait to make it for her so she can tell me how bad it is and show me how she's done it all her life and tell me its the only way it should be made.

[@j3ffn4v4rr0]

I'd love to know about that poster on the background, "Chocolate Chip Cookies-A Parametric Recipe"

[@chefsteps]

www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies-behold-the-cookie-calculator

[@j3ffn4v4rr0]

@@chefsteps Oh, I see it is part of a whole article!! Amazing, you probably just got me to sign up, as I'm an aspiring chocolate chip cookie-ologist 👌

[@fedesartorio]

This guy is a great teacher! I love the calm vibe of the whole video

[@DC-fu4ff]

More chinese recipes!!!

[@imaginary_pies]

can I use a normal mincer ?

[@laurae.9568]

Would the Goya powdered chicken packets work?

[@caminhantesolitario]

That's a great teacher right there! What a nice and complete masterclass

[@chefsteps]

Glad you liked it!

[@davidsircoin]

Does convection roasting them get you a similar effect to deep frying them?

[@thegrynne]

Thanks for highlighting this recipe! A note about the translation: the 花 in 五花肉 (wu hua rou), or what is translated as "five flower meat", actually means "pattern" in this context, so a more accurate translation would be "five-patterned meat", basically five-striped meat, for its many layered fatty-lean goodness.

[@provpaw2]

Is this a new approach to Asian dish? I find it very refreshing. Feel good when you can make this amazing dish with super common ingredients. The chef's vibe is nice too.

[@trex1448]

No it's traditional

[@mikethered123]

Super super super super super super super super. Super.

[@chefsteps]

Super

[@KitchenDog03]

Edit: the best Asian-inspired meatball you’ll ever have.

[@BayleQuek]

It’s interesting that he holds a knife in his left hand when cutting, but then holds chopsticks using his right hand.

[@sfllaw]

Children used to be forced to use chopsticks with their right hand so that they fit in when dining with others. In tight quarters, a left-handed diner will bump elbows with the other right-handed diners. This expectation is no longer common, these days, although elderly people may still publicly criticize this behaviour.

[@dspinney28]

15 secs in, already hit the like button!! 😮 🤤

[@isaacchin3854]

the lion's head actually refers to the statue of the lion's mouth, inside it's mouth you'll find a ball sculpture often known as hollow sculpting, thats where its name come from, cuz why would someone call it lion's ball, sounds wrong. In most parts of china , those statue of lion's will most likely have a ball of rock in their mouth as if its biting it.

[@EmoEmu]

When you say custardy, do you mean creamy?

[@wafikusary]

Look like a great recipe, except for the high percentage of fat in the pork belly. Wondering whether you can achieve the same with lean beef of chicken

[@obsigno8685]

i assure you, you cannot.

[@farmersdotter7]

Only if you desire to use them as croquet balls.

[@Klisstoriss]

Looks insane. Skipping the frying portion of the recipe, you think one could get away with a quick cook under the broiler, with the meatballs coated with a bit of vegetable oil?

[@_EVANERV_]

@@Klisstoriss it will generally not hold up together when braising if the meatballs are not fried first. I have tried broiling, but the results were never that great as they tend to "sweat" too much in the oven, and you really need that crusty shell. However, from personal experience, when I don't want to deep fry them, I just make smaller meatballs and pan fry them instead. Those always turn out well.

[@PhaTs00p]

Don't skip the frying portion.

[@chefsteps]

The frying step is important for setting the shape of the meatballs so that they don't fall apart during the braising step, and it also gives them a boost in the browning department to complement the red/brown sauce. Broiling could work in a pinch, but you'd end up with flat-bottomed meatballs (where the meatballs would have been in contact with the sheet pan), and you probably won't get great browning results.

[@Klisstoriss]

@@chefsteps thx for taking the time to answer, guess I'll see if my wok and my frying oil are up for it then

[@thegrynne]

In a home kitchen context, I usually just shallow fry the meatballs to set the exterior. You don't get that restaurant-style perfectly spherical shape that you achieve from deep-frying, but tastes just as good.

[@jiaqijiang7196]

I believe the tradtional technique is to add water gradually when mixing the meat, you add a little bit first, and add more when the mixture has fully absorb the water previous added, this would result in a even finer texture for the meatball; also add ginger-scallion water instead of scallion itself prevents buring in the frying process:)

[@damianrhea8875]

Yes, it is A “traditional (Chinese) technique” - but NOT THE (only) “traditional (Chinese) technique”. China is a big country; therefore, there are many variations to many things, including food - cuisineS, such as many culinary techniques and preferential palates according to different geographic regions.

[@larrypeterson6564]

What can I use instead of pork!!!

[@fb079]

Beef and lamb but make sure it's extra fatyy

[@chefsteps]

Beef short rib would be pretty good here. And though we haven't tried it, a combination of lamb shoulder and lamb belly/breast (if you can find it) would work well here purely from a texture perspective. In both cases, the flavor would be outside the realm of this dish.

[@1TheNewuser]

и совсем нежирное блюдо.

[@RonZajac]

Chinese here. Actually, lion head meatballs usually include tofu to give that pillowy texture, kinda works like milk and breadcrumbs. Also, red braise 紅燒 actually gets its colour from caramel in the sauce making process. The region where this is famous (around Jiangsu), the flavour are more on the sweet and sour side.

[@inesdelahoya2045]

NOT EXACTLY !!! First of all, China is such a big country - there are many diverse cuisines in China, therefore many variations to this dish “Lion’s Head” meatballs. Some people - although the VERY minority, as you - put tofu in it -, not only as a softening agent, but also as a filler / stretcher, especially when meat was scarce and expensive, such as long ago. The VERY majority of people, when filler is added here - as the Italians and the Swedish in their respective famous meatball dishes -, use yeast-leavened / bread-y articles, such as dry old Chinese steamed wheat buns 饅頭, dry old fried wheat dough (Chinese droughts) 油條, nowadays dry Western-style white wheat bread, plain Western bread crumb, plain crackers, or grains like leftover cooked rice or uncooked oatmeal or raw steel-cut Irish oats. As to flavoring, variations are many as well; for example: north of Beijing, ground star anise and minced dried orange peel 陳皮 and sometimes ground dried shrimp 海米 / 蝦米 are incorporated INTO the “Lion’s Head” meatballs to produce an “umami 鮮味”-rich and BALANCED flavour of the meatballs themselves - before they are used in whatever cooking methods, such as stew, soup, “fire pot 火鍋”, etc., plain or soy sauce-based or soy sauce-LIKE 紅燒. BTW, your definition of 「紅燒」 (literal English translation is “red-cooked”) as though only of the Zhejiang 浙江 region is rather limited and therefore misleading - in fact, the method of “red-cooked” is most popular throughout most of China, yet the use of “caramelisation” (by sugar) is VERY limited and widely debated to this day as to its concept and as to its practical effectiveness and efficiency even among culinary professionals of Chinese orientations.

[@Karak-Fak]

@@inesdelahoya2045great post!

[@inesdelahoya2045]

@@Karak-Fak Thank you very much. We live in California, USA. We find some non-ethnic-Chinese people here know more correctly about Chinese food and especially their younger generations hold chopsticks much better than ethnic-Asians from Asia themselves, and they have an easy attitude about it - it’s true the other way around: some ethnic-Asians know more correctly about Western food and use knives and forks much better than non-ethnic-Asian Americans themselves. Very interesting. 😊

[@JonnySublime]

It’s a meatball I’m sure there’s 1 million ways to do it

[@janenwilhelm]

You r spoiling a good story with facts.....

[@MarkWitucke]

Watch cross contamination: putting the sheet pan on top of the cutting board (then off to other surfaces ; )

[@vietcookings]

❤❤❤❤😂😂

[@vagadagadingdong]

I love how cooking is so different all over the world. Tender, succulent and custardy are the 3 things you would never want your meatballs to be in my country. Just hearing him say that gives me a lil nausea. 😬

[@emmazhang3040]

For an ultra-authentic version, check out 老饭骨 Laofangu's video kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoi4coOIpNSlmassi=7QyujHEtAA4XVt0F Their version was made by the late Zheng Xiusheng, a chef who specialized in Huaiyang cuisine, where 狮子头 originated. Tim's version is no doubt delicious and friendlier for home cooks. But the authentic version would use meat chopped into small chunks the size of pomegranate seeds (instead of ground), and the final result would be fall-apart tender meatballs that should give way readily with the bare minimum pressure from a spoon.

[@RickCarroll-j5n]

Well hello who are you my friend

[@jasonsonnier30]

Why are you using chicken stock their pork meatballs why not use pork stock not being negative or hating I am just curious

[@prequiet]

To enrich the flavor you should use different type of stock.

[@dang495]

2:09 puts the sheet pan on the raw pork covered cutting board. Then puts sheet pan in freezer. A shelf in the freezer is now covered with raw pork. Nice!

[@smoath]

Dude. There are a million comments from people like you every time they see how food professionals actually work in the real world. And you always just blurt out your reaction without thinking.

[@GaviLazan]

​@@smoathyou seem to be the one responding to all the people rightly calling out unsafe food prep. I guess you either feel like you need to stick up for Chefsteps (who are pretty good at keeping things professional) or you're someone who feels like they are some Michelin star chef when the most they do is watch food videos on KZbin. Will it cause the worst food poisoning ever? Probably not. But it is not up to snuff, definitely not when showing things to people who aren't trained pros. You're the one getting bent out of shape, just scroll and move on. Why do you need to respond to everyone? You're not even right, just trying (and failing) to justify a mistake. And that's all it was, a mistake.

[@theblobfish9614]

... Which absolutely does not matter. Pork is safe to eat raw just like beef

[@GaviLazan]

@@theblobfish9614 that's... Questionable. How about raw pork that's been sitting on the fridge shelf for a week because it came off the bottom of the tray?

[@theblobfish9614]

@@GaviLazan what do you think? In a freezer it doesnt matter

[@samasterchef]

Weirdest custard recipe on the internet

[@chefsteps]

😂 That's no easy feat.

[@mikeyoshimizu2038]

Plot Twist: Ball Shaped Meatloaf

[@zsofiademeter2956]

The guy with the mask, who keeps running into the picture nonstop, is absolutely annoying.

[@bigusdallastexamas5740]

When we're being mindful about the properties of corn starch, what are your thoughts on also being demure?

[@yunggeist3211]

Deepfried Meatballs seems like something I just don't wanna have

[@DirtyDoughnut]

too much starch/bicarb imo, the cross section was a bit too bouncy and meaty compared to most ones in zhejiang/shanghai. I find if the meat mix is easy to work with when shaping its too close to italian meatballs texture. Might be personal preference difference though, comparing to Chinese Cooking Demystified's version

[@عليالعراقي-ع2ت3ي]

علي موحان❤🤝😘🤝🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝❤❤🤝😘🤝😘🤝🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝😘🤝🤝😘🤝😘

[@smoath]

Hmm... Should've just been named lion balls. Maybe that's just me 🤪

[@CheesyDoesItCooking]

lol, how to make ultra tender meatballs. Use 80% fat

[@hzcyd101]

No no no no no please no frying and definitely no grinding cuz the texture does not come from the crispiness of frying but instead the chunky meat the size of roughly half a peanut. Half grind does not do the job, chop it please. That's not a Lion's head, that's just some random meatball.

[@WillSavage]

I haven't finished the video at this point, but I have to say that 'custardy' is not particularly appetising when describing a meatball lol. Creme brulée, yes, meatballs, no.

[@pialfre]

Maybe he meant crusty instead of custardy which, yeah, sounds like the wrong texture

[@shivinexzliao]

if you see any chef cook Chinese food by put soy sauce into the wok before stir fry, you know he is imposter. The meat ball is poorly made, not fried enough.

[@darrenburke9630]

Oh shut it

[@SatchmoBronson]

30 minutes in the freezer and dirtying the food processor (most annoying thing in the kitchen to clean) for something you can do with two knives that takes 5-10 minutes and is fun as hell? No thanks! Recipe looks good otherwise.

[@chefsteps]

We do also include instructions for hand-mincing the pork in the recipe! As well as directions for using a meat grinder! There are a variety of methods to get great results, and we love letting people choose the one that works best for them. www.chefsteps.com/activities/lions-head-meatballs

[@totot99]

Just say Cantonese bro.

[@curran18]

Great video! People are still wearing masks? What's up with that?

[@fb079]

They probably have a huge catalogue of videos which they are releasing now.

[@satanismybrother]

Maybe he has Covid or something else contagious and is trying to avoid giving it to his colleagues.

[@SatchmoBronson]

Covid still exists so...

[@moving2fast2]

While you may like spit or hair in your food, I don’t…

[@curran18]

@@moving2fast2 As a former cook and chef, I can tell you that NO ONE wears masks while they cook or prep. If that's your retort, then you better stay home and cook everything you eat.

[@jgraeff1]

good stuff but please take into consideration cross contamination. putting the tray where the belly was then into the freezer transferred all that bacteria.

[@nath5178]

Was going to comment the exact same thing.

[@carstenscheller8363]

You're lucky if that's your only problem when watching a video😂. Nobody sells or eat that stuff. Make in your own kitchen everything right or count peas somewhere else....

[@jgraeff1]

@@carstenscheller8363the point is he’s a trained chef and he knows better. Food safety isn’t something to mess around with. Especially when teaching the public. Some home cooks could follow this and end up sick.

[@smoath]

Do you really think you're telling him something he doesn't know? I mean, do you REALLY think that. I'm curious because every video there's lots of people like you telling professionals what they should be doing. It never occurs to you that they know something you don't know?

[@jgraeff1]

@@smoathI am a professional and that’s why I’m calling him out just like I would in a professional kitchen. There’s no excuse

[@MoonBerryShrimp]

Does he not have gloves?

[@GaviLazan]

What benefit will the gloves provide?

[@lugaretzia]

The usual battlecry of those who've never spent a day in a professional kitchen

[@FrazierFinds]

He’s using gloves when forming the balls…

[@rocco-yq1js]

Sugar…sugar everywhere. Bah

[@roberthousedorfii1743]

No recipe without a signup? WTF are you wasting my time for?

[@bcatbb2896]

Yo what is with this guy and pointless dish waste The guy literally used almost 10 bowls in this one video

[@whatinthrworld23459]

i like the recipe and all but lets wash our hands or at least get those meat chunks off after handling raw meat in between handling other cooking equipments. As someone who lived in professional kitchen for over 10 years, this just is not a good example.

[@PeterParker-jm4dc]

dont come to england they do that to everything

[@8BITZAK]

Im sure they wash the equipment like most places do. not trying to wash my hands every 2 secs lol