If serving with sauce:

Dice the pork and continue chopping until it has almost the texture of ground meat, just a little more coarse. Place chopped pork in bowl. Add egg, wine, cornstarch, pepper, ginger and scallion juice. With your hands, stir the meat, revolving always in one direction. Take the meat in one hand and tilt the bowl in the other. Throw the meat vigorously back into the bowl, repeating for several minutes, until pork mixture is very sticky. Working lightly, without overly compressing the mixture, form the meat into balls (see note above on size). Cover bowl with damp paper towel and set aside.

Set aside 3 leaves of cabbage and cut the rest into thick strips.

Heat a wok or frying pan over high heat until you can feel the warmth coming off of it when you place your palm above the bottom. Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil until very hot. Stir-fry the chopped cabbage until limp; drain off oil and and arrange cabbage in the bottom of a heatproof casserole or dutch oven. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil until very hot and fry meatballs until golden brown on all sides.

Arrange the meatballs on the cabbage in the casserole. Pour broth over meatballs and cover with reserved whole cabbage leaves. Braise over medium-low heat (on top of stove or in oven) for 2 hours, adding broth or water if needed.

For a family-style meal, the lion's head can be served from the casserole, with just a splash of soy sauce to finish.

For a more elegant preparation, do as Beijing Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Waikiki does: Remove the meatballs from the broth and drain well on paper towels. Heat a wok and heat 1/2 cup of peanut oil until very hot. Fry the drained meatballs until golden brown; remove and keep warm. Pour off all but a couple of teaspoons of oil; add 1/2 cup of hot cooking broth, soy sauces, sugar and salt, and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Whisk in cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened, just a few seconds.

Place a bed of cabbage in a decorative platter; arrange meatballs on top and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately as a second or third course during a festive meal.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ginger and scallion juice: Bruise 3 slices ginger and one scallion. Soak in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes.

There was a time when every Swedish housewife was judged by her meatballs, and every recipe was slightly different. This one is from the classic Time/Life Foods of the World series' "The Cooking of Scandinavia" (Time/Life Books, 1968). Tiny, unsauced meatballs are served on the smorgasbord table. Larger meatballs with a cream sauce made from the drippings become an entree.

SMA KOTBULLAR (SWEDISH MEATBALLS)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter over moderate heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent but not brown.

In a large bowl, combine onions, potato, bread crumbs, meat, ¡ cup cream, salt, egg and parsley. Knead vigorously with both hands or beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and fluffy. Shape into 1-inch balls; place in a single layer on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil together in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet. Add meatballs, 8 to 10 at a time, and fry over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently to move balls around to brown on all sides while keeping their shape, about 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through, showing no trace of pink inside. Transfer to a casserole or baking dish and keep warm in oven. Add butter and oil to skillet as needed to complete browning meatballs.

Serve meatballs as is for a smorgasbord (appetizer spread).

To serve as an entree, make sauce and pour over meatballs and serve over noodles or potatoes: Remove skillet from heat, pour off fat and return to skillet to medium heat. Pour water or beef stock into skillet and heat, scraping up browned bits. Whisk in flour and cook. Whisk in cream and simmer the sauce over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Pour over meatballs and serve.

Makes about 30 smorgasbord meatballs; serves 6 to 8 as an entree.

This oven-baked meatball recipe from the collection of Addie Rowland of Wailuku, Maui, (my mom) is convenient for entertaining because you can make and brown the meatballs ahead of time (even a day or two in advance; refrigerate, covered), then bake them in last hour before company comes. These are perfect for a stand-up party because, lacking a sauce, there's no mess (just spear with toothpick), but the long cooking in broth means they're full of flavor and tender. High-quality canned broth is fine.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS II

In large bowl, crumble bread into milk. Blend eggs, spices and onion into milk-bread mixture. Add meats. Mix well with hands. Form into 1/2-inch balls (for pupu) or 1 1/2-inch balls for entrees. Place balls on waxed paper or plastic wrap on baking sheet and refrigerate 1 hour, until firm and dry.

Quickly brown in uncrowded batches in a 50/50 butter and vegetable oil mixture in a frying pan over medium-heat, shaking pan. Meatballs need only turn color: they will cook in the oven. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to casserole or baking dish. Pour beef broth over meatballs and bake in 350-degree oven 1 hour, turning meatballs several times during cooking. The meatballs will be cooked through and the beef broth concentrated. Serve in chafing dish for pupu or over rice or noodles for entree.

Makes about 40 pupu-size meatballs or serves 6 to 8 as entree course.

A specialty of Naples but eaten all over Italy, these polpette (pole-PET-ay) - the simplest of the many Italian meatball recipes - are airy textured with a sophisticated flavor informed by nutty cheese and piquant lemon zest. They're delicious in a pool of rich homemade pomodoro sauce. As an alternative, skip the tomato sauce, make the meatballs smaller than usual and toss them with hot, garlicky pasta. This can also be shaped into a meat loaf (polpettone); use two eggs.

POLPETTE

In a small bowl, toss together bread crumbs and milk until liquid is absorbed.

In a medium bowl, combine meats, cheese, egg, milk-and-bread mixture, lemon peel, nutmeg and a little salt and pepper. Gently stir or mix with your hands until well-combined. Form into small balls, about the size of walnuts.

In a frying pan, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil and saute several minutes, until browned on all sides. Drain on paper towels. Set aside until 15 minutes or so before serving.

Serve immediately on a pool of hot tomato sauce or, if you wish to hold the dish, place the meatballs in the sauce; cover and hold at low temperature, or turn off heat, refrigerate and reheat later.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

BASIC SICILIAN TOMATO SAUCE

In a dutch oven or other heavy pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and fry gently just until the garlic turns color from white to cream-colored or gold. Take great care not to burn; if the garlic turns brown, it's burned; discard oil and start again.

Standing back, because it will boil up and spatter, throw in the tomatoes all at once. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or so, until the mixture is jammy in consistency, glossy and fragrant. Taste, season and hold at low temperature.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.