Shi zi tou (狮子头, lion's head) is a Jiangnan preparation of very large pork meatballs — typically 8-10cm in diameter — made from hand-chopped (not minced) pork, slow-braised in a clear stock or soy broth until they are silky-soft, surrounded by tender napa cabbage. The name refers to the resemblance of the large, rough-textured meatballs to a lion's head (the cabbage leaves being the lion's mane). Two versions exist: the clear-braised (qing dun, 清炖, paler, lighter, the Yangzhou standard) and the red-braised (hong shao, 红烧, darker, richer, with soy and rock sugar).
The pork: The key distinction of lion's head is the hand-chopped pork — pork belly (with fat) is first sliced then roughly chopped by hand into pieces approximately 3-5mm in size. Machine-minced pork produces a paste that cooks into a dense, smooth meatball. The hand-chopped pork retains pockets of fat and lean meat that produce a tender, slightly coarse texture. The binding: 1 egg, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, minced ginger, Shaoxing wine, salt. Mix together with the chopped pork. Throw the mixture against the mixing bowl 10-15 times to develop the protein strands that hold the meatball together. Forming: Wet hands. Divide into 4-6 large balls (8-10cm diameter). Place gently in a clay pot or deep braising vessel. Braising: Cover with stock. Add napa cabbage leaves on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and braise 1.5-2 hours — the meatballs should be so tender they yield when pressed with a spoon.
Machine-mincing the pork: The smooth paste produced by machine mincing results in a dense, springy meatball — the opposite of the tender, yielding lion's head. Insufficient braising time: The full tender transformation requires at least 90 minutes.
Fuchsia Dunlop, Land of Fish and Rice (2016); Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking (2009)