Lion Head Meatballs

Name: Lion Head Meatballs
Ingredients: 1 pound 2 ounces ground beef; 2 ounces Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry; 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 spring onions, finely chopped; 1 egg, beaten; 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger; 2 tablespoons light soy sauce; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; Pinch freshly cracked white pepper; 3 1/2 ounces groundnut oil (peanut); 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock; 11 ounces Chinese cabbage, quartered lengthwise from leaf to stem end; 3 dried Chinese mushrooms, porcini mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms; 1 tablespoon light soy sauce; 1 tablespoon cornstarch, blended with 2 tablespoons cold water, optional; Sea salt and freshly cracked white pepper; 2 large spring onions (green), sliced; Basic Glutinous Rice, recipe follows, for service, optional; 11 ounces glutinous rice, rinsed; 18 ounces water