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

[@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:)

[@zootage]

Great video my man! Keep em coming

[@chefsteps]

That's the plan!

[@FrazierFinds]

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

[@chefsteps]

We agree!

[@moving2fast2]

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

[@amanic9986]

This looks incredible & he’s a great teacher.

[@vikz5786]

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

[@chefsteps]

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

[@fedesartorio]

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

[@_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.

[@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!

[@davidcurryman]

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

[@mikethered123]

Super super super super super super super super. Super.

[@chefsteps]

Super

[@BayleQuek]

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

[@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

[@dspinney28]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@Viettiencooking]

❤❤❤❤😂😂

[@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.

[@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.

[@CheesyDoesItCooking]

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

[@totot99]

Just say Cantonese bro.

[@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

[@samasterchef]

Weirdest custard recipe on the internet

[@chefsteps]

😂 That's no easy feat.

[@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

[@bigusdallastexamas5740]

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

[@smoath]

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

[@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

[@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…

[@عليالعراقي-ع2ت3ي]

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

[@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…

[@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.