There was a request from a reader for a fish balls recipe after reading our very popular Taiwanese meat ball (貢丸) soup recipe. Well, I figured, since I’m up for the challenge, why stop at regular fish balls when there is this whole new level of fish ball from the Fuzhou province of China, commonly known as FuZhou Fish Ball (福州魚丸). While not as fancy as a turducken but it’s still a pork wrapped in fish. Maybe we’ll just call this a fisheat for fish & meat or a fishork for fish & pork or maybe even basaporka since it’s made with basa fish and minced pork, not to be confused with Bosa Chica which is a state beach in California, not fish ball with chicken filling. All joking aside, this challenge was more than I bargained for but once I was able to succeed, I felt very proud to discover, in a lifehacker sort of way, an easy method for making the fish paste as well as shaping the fish ball. Now, for full disclosure, because of this method and the ingredients we use, the fish balls aren’t going to bounce off your plate and the meat filling juices aren’t going to spray your companions around the table. So Grace, this one is for you!

Another challenge, at least for our food blog, is our entry into food v-blog. Yikes, trying to film yourself cooking is super challenging. Whereas food photography can wait, video does not. I’ve smeared my camera many times with raw meat or tapioca flour. Other times, I’ve tried to record a video but took a picture instead. But that’s what life is all about, we persevere through the ups and downs and determined to emerge victorious, even if that is a battle between me and my Nikon D5500 – which is a huge step up from my D90 that required me to climb to the counter just to look through the viewfinder. RANT: @Nikon – why can’t you make the prosumer grade camera (D7200) with an articulating screen – that almost made me switch over to Canon except I have too many Nikon lenses, regret, remorse, repent.

Ok, back to the recipe – it’s been a crazy Christmas – New Year as I twisted my ankle, hurt my back, caught the flu and now am fully medicated and confined. Itsmydish proudly presents our first recipe for 2016 in full photographic and videographic HD colors (just not the text).

Ingredients

Fish Paste Ingredients

• 1 lb basa fish fillet *
• 4 oz finely ground fatty pork **
• ¼ cup sweet potato starch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• ¼ cup crushed ice

Meat Filling Ingredients

• 8 oz ground pork
• 1 tbsp fried shallot
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour

* You can use any kind of fish for the fish ball but white fish tend to work out the best because the flavor is milder. Some good substitute include pollack or cod. I probably would not splurge on halibut and make it into fish balls. Salmon, surprisingly, does NOT work well for fish balls, also due to it’s strong flavor.

** I usually buy pork belly at Costco and  grind it up myself – for this recipe, choose the fattier side of the pork belly

Directions

To make good fish balls, we need to break down the proteins strands so they start to attach themselves onto other strands. There are many tried and true techniques from the old but I don’t have time to chop up fish with two cleavers nor throw fish paste at the counter 100 times. A good substitute is our trusted food processor.

First, please pat the fish dry using paper towels – the water makes it harder to form paste. Cut the fish into about 1” chunks. Throw all the fish paste ingredients into the food processor, including crushed ice. If you can’t find sweet potato starch (different from regular potato starch), you can use tapioca or cornstarch as a substitute but the texture will not be as authentic. Turn the food processor on and let it blend into a nice pulpy paste. Takes about 1 to 2 minutes or so.Remove the paste and put into a bowl. Refrigerate for about 15-30 minutes while you prep the other things.

Put all the meat filling ingredients into a bowl and knead the mixture so all the flavors incorporate into the meat. Now here is an optional step – portion out your meat filling into about 1 tsp balls so it’s easier to make the fish ball later. I skipped this step because that’s another plate that I would have to wash. But if you want every ball to be the same size with the same amount of filling, then portioning is the best approach.Prior to making sticking our meat filling into the fish paste, boil water in a saute pan and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Saute pans work a lot better than stock pots for fish ball because it’s not as deep so easier to access.

Remove the fish paste from the refrigerator and now the hard part begins. If you are skilled like my grandmother, you can probably use your index finger and thumb to squeeze out a perfectly spherical fish ball with filling at 50% and dead center. But then again, she’s probably made over 10,000 fish balls before perfecting her skills. In my many tries, I’ve found an easier way to do it, not perfect, but it gets the job done and still get praises from the family. First, take about a tablespoon full of fish paste and spread across the palm of your hands. Then put about a teaspoon to 1 ½ tsp of meat filling in the middle. Dip a clean spoon in water and then start scooping up the fish paste from the edge towards the center of your palm like covering the filling with many layers of fish paste blanket. Overlap each ‘blanket’ with another blanket next to it until you have completely covered the meat filling with fish paste like a flower’s petals covering the pistil prior to blooming. The last step is to scoop the bottom of the ball and flip it upside down in your palm so you can shape it into a ball.

Gently slide the fish ball into the water. Continue to make fish balls until you have used up the paste or filling. If you have extra paste, you can just make standard fish balls. If you have extra meat filling, just stir fry it and eat with rice.Cover the fish balls and cook for about 15 minutes on this very low simmer until the fish ball feels firm and have been floating in the water. If you will not be consuming the fish balls immediately, then strain the fish balls and chill in ice bath and either freeze or refrigerate.

Prepare fish or chicken stock and add the fuzhou fish balls into the soup and serve. Garnish with fresh green onions.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Fuzhou Fish Balls (福州魚丸)

 

Author:

Mike Hsu

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: ~20 fish balls

Prep time: 60 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Print

 

Fuzhou Fish Ball is famous for the meaty and savory filling wrapped inside of a light and fluffy fish ball - good with soups or a meal by itself

Ingredients

Fish Paste Ingredients

• 1 lb basa fish fillet
• 4 oz finely ground fatty pork
• ¼ cup sweet potato starch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• ¼ cup crushed ice

Meat Filling Ingredients

• 8 oz ground pork
• 1 tbsp fried shallot
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour

Instructions

1. Pat dry fish and cut into 1” chunks
2. Throw fish paste ingredients into a food processor and blend for about 1-2 minutes until everything is a nice paste
3. Mix the filling ingredients thoroughly
4. Boil a saute pan with water and turn heat down to the lowest setting
5. Wear gloves or wet hands, take 1 tbsp of fish paste and flatten on hand
6. Add 1 tsp of filling and gently wrap the fish paste around the filling
7. Gently roll the fish ball into the water
8. Continue to add fish balls until complete
9. Cover the fish balls and cook for about 15 minutes until fish ball feels firm
10. If not using immediately, remove fish ball and chill in ice bath and freeze for later
11. Put fish ball in chicken or fish stock soup to serve
12. Garnish with fresh green onions

3.5.3208