Lion's Head (food) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lion's Head
Traditional Chinese	獅子頭
Simplified Chinese	狮子头
Literal meaning	Lion's head
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shīzi Tóu

Lion's Head (simplified Chinese: 狮子头; traditional Chinese: 獅子頭; pinyin: Shīzitóu) is a famous Chinese dish. It's made of large pork meatballs that are cooked slowly with vegetables. This dish comes from Huaiyang cuisine, which is a style of cooking from eastern China.

There are two main kinds of Lion's Head meatballs:

• White (or plain) Lion's Head: This version is usually cooked by stewing or steaming with napa cabbage.
• Red Lion's Head: This kind is cooked using a method called red cooking, which means it's made with soy sauce. This gives the meatballs a darker, reddish color. The red version can be cooked with cabbage, bamboo shoots, or tofu.

Chefs often use minced pork that has a good amount of fat. This helps the meatballs have a better texture. Sometimes, chopped water chestnuts are added to make them a bit crunchy.

How it Got its Name

The shape of the meatball is said to look like the head of a Chinese guardian lion.

The name "lion's head" comes from how the meatball looks. It's supposed to look like the head of a Chinese guardian lion. These are the large, often stone, lion statues you see guarding temples and buildings in China.

Where it Comes From

This dish first came from the cities of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in China. The plain white version is more popular in Yangzhou, while the red version is more common in Zhenjiang. Later, in the 1800s and early 1900s, many people moved to Shanghai. They brought this dish with them, and it became a part of Shanghai cuisine.

Sometimes, Lion's Head can also be made with beef. There are even vegetarian versions of the dish!

History of the Dish

Lion's Head has been well-known for a long time, especially since the late Qing dynasty. An old recipe from a book called Qing bai lei chao describes how to make it. It says to use half fatty and half lean pork, chop it finely, and mix it with egg whites to help it stick together. Sometimes, shrimp or crab meat was added. The meatballs were cooked slowly in a clay pot with napa cabbage or bamboo shoots at the bottom.

Another old cookbook from the mid-Qing dynasty, called Tiaoding ji, describes a similar dish. This suggests that Lion's Head might have developed from even older recipes. Some stories say the dish dates back to the Sui dynasty, but there's no real proof of that yet.

Different Kinds of Lion's Head

While there are many ways to make Lion's Head, the two main types are the plain white version and the red-cooked version.

Stewed Meatballs with Crab Powder

This is considered a very traditional way to make Lion's Head. It uses special ingredients and a careful cooking process.

Red-cooked (soy-braised) lion's head meatballs

Here are some common ingredients for this traditional type:

• Pork ribs (with a good mix of fat and lean meat)
• Crab roe (crab eggs)
• Crab meat
• Napa cabbage
• Shrimp
• Shaoxing Wine (a type of Chinese cooking wine)
• Salt
• Garlic and scallions (green onions)
• Starch (to help bind the meatballs)
• Pork stock (broth)
• Lard (pork fat)

See also

In Spanish: Cabeza de león para niños