Lion's Head Meatballs

Per Michelle's Mom's cryptic instructions

2 inch section of Nagaimo (root vegetable typically found in chinese/japanese markets in styro tray wrapped in saran) Also could be called wy-sang (sp) in chinese, peeled and cut into 1 inch pcs
1/3block medium firm tofu
1 pound ground pork

napa cabbage or bok choy

oyster sauce (~2 tbsp for the meat mixture, 1 tbsp for the sauce)
soy sauce (i used dark, about 1 tbsp)
3 tbsp chopped water chestnuts
2 tsp chinese wine
white pepper
corn starch
oil for fying
chicken stock

Peel and cube the nagaimo. It's extremely slimy and strange. Put the cubed nagaimo and tofu into a blender and let her whirl for a bit. It will be liquidy. In a large bowl, mix the ground pork with the nagaimo/tofu mixture (you'll want to add this maybe half at first, then add little by little - you don't want it to be too watery or the meatballs will fall apart). Add seasonings..oyster sauce, wine, soy sauce, water chestnuts and corn starch. After mixed very well, form into meatballs. You can make them any size you want.

Put some oil in a large pan. Brown the meatballs all around. Be careful turning them b/c they will be very soft. It doesn't have to be cooked all the way thru yet. If you've got excess oil in the pan, drain it out. Add chicken stock to cover half the meatball and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the veggies to the broth and cook until tender. Add some oyster sauce to the sauce. Remove the meatballs and the veggies to your serving dish. Add a cold water/cornstarch mixture to the broth to thicken. Once it's reached the desired consistency, pour the sauce over your meatballs. Viola!

Note: Sorry, I don't have exact measurements of anything b/c this is how my mom does it. Also, I've only made this once, and the meatballs were extrememly tender and moist, but I don't think I added enough seasonings. Also, I have made another recipe which called for water chestnuts and I did like the crunch of them, so maybe next time I'll also add those. According to my mom, its the slimy nagaimo that makes it so soft. (she always has some "secret"/must-have ingredient)

Update: I added the some seasoning, (recipe above is updated) and it tastes really good now. Stephen said..."just like the restaurants". Wow. Enjoy!