As you may know by now, I am a big fan of Asian Cuisine. I do love Asian-inspired soups. Lion’s Head Soup is a perfect meal when looking for something warm and satisfying. When talking about soup, there are many great examples of Asian soups that can fulfill my cravings. Some of my favorites are Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, Vietnamese Pho, Thai Tom Kha Gai, and Japanese Ramen.

What is Lion’s Head Soup?

Lion’s Head Soup is one of the well-known dishes of Jiangsu Cuisine in China. This dish is known for the light and savory meatballs that are the centerpiece of the bowl. The meatballs are typically made from ground fatty pork. To ensure I had at least a 75/25 fat ratio for my meat, I used a pork shoulder that I had ground up for the meatball. My local Stater Bros. is happy to take your pork shoulder and grind it for you. Another option might be to chop up some pork belly and mix that with the ground pork you find at the grocery. Keep the bone from the pork shoulder and let it cook in the chicken broth to add flavor to the soup.

I decided to add crab meat to the meatball mix to make this recipe a little more special. The big box stores sell chopped crab in 1 lb containers. Make sure you scan the crab for small pieces of shells before you mix it with the pork. You always have the alternative method of buying fresh crab from whomever you buy from locally.

These are a few of the brands of crab I have been able to find at my local stores.

When serving the dish, surround the meatballs in some of the cooked Napa cabbage. The meatball and the surrounding cabbage is supposed to resemble the head and mane of the Lion. Now you know where the name comes from!

I hope you enjoy this version of Lion’s Head Soup. Please leave your comments and let me know what you think! As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

Lion’s Head Soup

Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

5.0 from 3 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

Ingredients for the meatballs
2 lbs Ground pork 75 / 25
1 lb Crabmeat
1 Cup Napa cabbage, minced
3 Tbl Green onion, white part minced
2 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbl Shaoxing wine, (or Sherry if not available)
1 tsp White pepper
1 Egg
4 oz Water chestnut, minced
1 1/2 Tbl Cornstarch
Other Ingredients
64 oz Chicken stock
1/2 Tbl Cornstarch
4 Baby Bok Choy, napa cabbage
1 tsp White pepper
3-4 Portions of vermicelli
Green onions, sliced for garnish
Pieces of napa cabbage for garnish

Directions

Set your oven to 450°.
Mince all the vegetables for the meatballs. To remove the skin from the ginger, I like to use my spoon to scrape it off. Place all the veggies, pork, crab, and remaining ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl.
Mix all of the meatball ingredients together. Form into 3″ balls. Do not overwork the meat. They will become tough if overworked. Place meatballs in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Place meatballs on a tray and then into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until meatballs are nice and brown.
Add chicken broth to a large dutch oven. Set the heat on the stove to low-medium. Stir cornstarch and the additional tsp of white pepper into the broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Add bok choy, a few leaves of the napa cabbage, and some meatballs to the pot and let cook an additional 15 minutes.
Place vermicelli in a small soup pot over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Transfer vermicelli into your dutch oven
Let contents of the dutch oven simmer for another 10 minutes
Time to place soup into serving bowls. Top off with green onion and enjoy!