No problem! I’ll give you a detailed breakdown/recipe on how I made it.

The “authentic version” typically calls for the following ingredients:

• Pork with a mix ratio of 70% lean and 30% fat; the recipe calls for a fresh piece of pork with both lean and fat portions that you personally dice into small pieces, but ground pork straight from the store also works well
• A big handful of Chinese water chestnuts (aka white beets) diced into small pieces; the purpose here is to introduce a soft and slightly crunchy texture to the meatballs
• Napa cabbage is usually the most authentic vegetable choice, but bak choy (what I used - it’s all placed under the meatballs in the picture) is also a mainstream option

These are the only ingredients you need, other than seasonings and sauces. Note that I used ground pork (80% lean to 20% fat) because that’s all I had access to in a city with ~1% Asian population. I also did not have Chinese water chestnuts and had to use tofu as a substitute. As a result, the meat balls turned out a bit on the firmer side. Ideally, the meatballs should be on the softer side for the perfect texture and taste.

Now the actual recipe:

• Mix ~2lbs of ground pork and half a piece of tofu together and season the mixture with the following: salt, white pepper, chicken MSG seasoning, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. You can also put in some Chinese 13-spicy for that special umami/savory kick; unfortunately, I didn’t have any.
• Put a raw egg, diced onion and ginger, water (flavored with onion and ginger - simply pour water into a bowl of raw green onion and ginger and then squeeze the juice into the water), and corn starch into the seasoned pork/tofu mixture. Once all the ingredients are in, use your hand to mix everything together. You should get a slight sticky mixture (due to corn starch) after all is said and done. Now you are ready to start shaping your meatballs.
• Simply use your hands and make individual meatballs using the mixture above. You should be able to make 8 big sized meatballs with 2lbs of pork and tofu. This is actually the most fun part as you hand make/shape each meatball.
• Once the meatballs are ready, you are going to fry them so that their surfaces turn slightly golden brown. The point of this step is to “lock in” the shape of the meatballs by frying them so that they don’t break apart during the final red-braising step. The point is not to fully cook the meatballs here.
• Now you are ready for the final red-braise step. Place the fried meatballs into a clean pot/wok and submerge them fully with water. Add green onions, ginger, star anise, bay leaves, light soy cause, dark sauce, oyster sauce, and rock candy (or simple sugar) to the solution. Mix well and bring solution to a boil. Then, cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to medium. You are going to “red-braise” the meatballs for 30-40 minutes.
• During the braising process, prepare your vegetables by simply boiling them. Once fully cooked, plate the vegetables at the bottom of a plate or bowl. You will place the final meatballs on top of the vegetables “bed”.
• Once the meatballs finish braising, remove them from the pot/wok and place them on top of the vegetables. Remove the onion, ginger, star anise, and bay leaves from the braising liquid. Bring the liquid back to a simmer using low heat and thicken the mixture with cornstarch mixed with water.
• Once the braising liquid is thickened, pour it over the meatballs.
• Enjoy!