Lion's head is a traditional dish in Huaiyang cuisine in China, Jiangsu and Yangzhou. Legend has it that the practice of lion head began in Sui Dynasty. On a lucky trip, Emperor Yang Di took Wansongshan, Qiandun, Ivory Forest and Sunflower Gang, four famous scenic spots in Yangzhou, as the theme, and made four dishes: sweet and sour mandarin fish, money shrimp cake, ivory chicken slices and sunflower chopped meat. It is said that it was originally called sunflower chop meat and sunflower balls, and Wei Juyuan, a chef of the Tang Dynasty, made sweet and sour mandarin fish and money.

The lion's head is 60% fat and 40% lean, and the ingredients are onions, ginger and eggs. Made into fist-sized meatballs, which can be steamed and braised, fat but not greasy. But modern people generally use more lean meat. Tsui Hark clearly pointed out in "Notes on Clearing Barn": "Lionhead is named after its shape, and pork is round. Pork is half fat and half thin, finely cut and roughly chopped, mixed with protein to make it easy to solidify, or added with shrimp and crab powder. Put yellow sand in the jar, put bean sprouts or bamboo shoots at the bottom, make a big circle with water, salt and meat, put it on it, cover it with vegetable leaves, and sprinkle a little salt in the iron pot to prevent the pot from cracking. Then, dry it with slow fire. Every time you burn a few sticks, you don't burn them. After about five minutes, take them out when they are cooked. "

This dish has a long history. The Song Dynasty poet said, "The only cup with two crabs is Yangzhou Crane." . Comparing eating crabs and chopping meat to a happy fairy riding a crane down to Yangzhou shows how delicious and attractive this dish is. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a dish called "Big Brother Meat Ball" in Yangzhou, and its preparation method was as follows: "Take rib meat, peel it, cut it into slender strips, make it coarse, add bean powder and a little seasoning. Don't rub it with your hand. Or stir-fried or steamed (lined with tender green) "shows that the lion head dish was recognized by the society in the Qing Dynasty.

The cooking of lion's head is very important. Simmer for about 40 minutes on low fire, so that the stool will be fat but not greasy, and it will melt in the mouth. There are three cooking methods of lion's head in Yangzhou: stewing, steaming and stewing, but there are many varieties, such as stewed lion's head with crab powder, roasted lion's head with clam meat and roasted lion's head with diced chicken.

Lion's head is a kind of meatball. The origin of this dish, iron lion head, is because the hometown of imperial doctor Xilaile is Cangzhou, Hebei Province, and the iron lion in Cangzhou is a scene, so it is called this meatball iron lion head. Mainly because it is tender in the outside. There are also stewed lion heads, and there are many practices. And longan lion head. Steamed lion head. Some places are called four happy parties. The practice is basically the same.