Name: Plant-Based Lion's Head Meatballs with Cabbage and Rice Noodles
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1½ pounds plant-based ground meat; 2 scallions , white parts minced, green parts sliced thin; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 4 teaspoons sugar; 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger; ½ teaspoon table salt; ½ teaspoon white pepper; 4 cups vegetable broth; 1 small head napa cabbage (1½ pounds), quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces; 4 ounces rice vermicelli

Why This Recipe Works

We first fell in love with these lion's head meatballs when developing a recipe using traditional pork; in this adaptation, we do away with the animal protein but keep all the nuanced flavor. In our pork-based recipe, the meat is kneaded until its sticky proteins cross-link and bind to yield springy-textured meatballs. Since plant-based meat lacks the myosin responsible for this change in texture, here we save some time and skip the kneading. These meatballs are a bit more tender than the traditional pork version, but we still appreciate their flavor thanks to the scallions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, fresh ginger, and white pepper we mix right in. To cook the meatballs, we gently braise them with the cabbage in vegetable broth while the rice noodles soften in a separate pot. The result: fittingly regal crowns to these slurpable noodle bowls.

Before You Begin

Depending on the brand of plant-based meat you use, these large meatballs may be slightly pink in the center when fully cooked. For the best results, make sure to shake all excess water from the noodles after rinsing them.

Instructions

Combine ground meat, scallion whites, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, ginger, salt, and white pepper in large bowl and gently knead with your hands until mixture is well combined. Using your moistened hands, pinch off and roll meat mixture into 2½-inch meatballs (you should have 8 meatballs). Transfer meatballs to plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Bring broth to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add cabbage, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Arrange meatballs in pot (seven around perimeter and one in center; meatballs will not be totally submerged). Cover pot and continue to simmer until meatballs are firm and cabbage is tender, 20 to 25 minutes longer, turning meatballs to submerge exposed side halfway through simmering.

While cabbage and meatballs cook, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Off heat, add noodles and let sit until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well under cold water, then distribute evenly among individual serving bowls. Ladle meatballs, cabbage, and broth over noodles in bowls. Sprinkle with scallion greens and serve.