Pork Meatball Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Toasted Rice

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Ingredients

1. 1/2 pound ground pork
2. 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
3. 1 shallot, minced
4. 1 garlic clove, minced
5. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Szechwan peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper
6. 1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine or sake
7. 1 teaspoon sugar
8. Salt
9. 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
10. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
11. 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12. 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps halved
13. 3 ounces baby spinach (4 cups)
14. 3 scallions, thinly sliced
15. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
16. Red chili sauce, for serving

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground pork with the ginger, shallot, garlic and ground Szechwan peppercorns. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the rice wine and the sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and sesame oil. Form the mixture into 10 meatballs.
2. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the meatballs and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth and mushrooms and simmer over moderate heat until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, scallions, soy sauce and the remaining 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon rice wine and simmer until the spinach is just wilted, about 1 minute. Season the soup with salt and serve with chili sauce on the side.