Fish balls are eaten in a variety of ways, including deep-fried, in soup or with a dipping sauce.
In China, during winter, friends or family always get together to have a hot pot, which is really enjoyable.
Fish balls are a classic dish for parties as they are an easy finger food.
It is not difficult to make a soft and firm fish ball!
Following my recipe, you can make homemade fish balls that are wonderfully satisfying and delicious.
How to choose the fish for fish balls:
Fish with high protein and low fat content should generally be used for making fish balls.
Fish with high fat content reduces the elasticity of fish balls because fat blocks the formation of protein molecular network structures. Second, the freshness of the fish will also affect the quality of the fish balls.
Fresh fish does not undergo protein deterioration, so it is a prerequisite for making fish balls. Conversely, if the fish is not fresh the quality of the fish balls will be affected.
I bought a fresh fish today and made this dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 fresh Bighead carp
- 1 egg
- Half a lemon
- 20 grams starch
- Ketchup, to taste
- Rice sauce, to taste (You can use light soy sauce instead.)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- oil: enough to deep fry the fish balls
how to make fishball
Step 1:
Wash the fish, cut off the head and tail, and split it into two pieces from the middle. (It is recommended that you use Snakehead Fish to make fish balls. When cutting, you can put a piece of wet cloth under the chopping board to prevent it from slipping.)
Step 2:
Remove the fish bones and spine from the middle of the fish. Then remove the skin.
Step 3:
Cut the fish obliquely into fillets. (A fish weighing 2 kilograms, which will be about 450 grams of fish fillets, can make about 30 fish balls.)
Step 4:
Mash up the fish into a fish paste. (Key point: the fish must be fine; smash up the small bones in the fish, or you can use a food processor, to make it easier.
Step 5:
Place the fish puree in a bowl, add the salt, and cooking wine, and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
Step 6:
Add the egg whites and stir in one direction with your hand. (Be sure to follow one direction when stirring, and stir vigorously, so that the fish balls will be more elastic. Keep stirring for about 10-15 minutes, without stopping.
Step 7:
Add a little water (about 5ml) while stirring. (The fish will be a little dry, and this helps to make the fish more tender and smooth. After adding water, you must continue to stir constantly, otherwise the fish balls will fall apart.)
Step 8:
Add the cornstarch and continue to mix well in the same direction.
Step 9:
Fill your pot half way with boiling water. Take the right amount of fish mixture with one hand, squeeze mixture out from your fist and shape it into a ball using a spoon, as shown in the picture below. Place the fish ball on a spoon and put it into the pot of water.
Step 10
Continue to cook fish balls until they float to the surface, and when the foam from the water starts to overflow, remove them and put them in cool water to cool them.
(The cold water can be changed once during the cooling period to ensure that the water temperature is always cold. The cold water helps to make the fish balls more firm.)
Step 11:
Pour a little cooking oil into the pan. When the pan is hot, add the tomato sauce and then pour in the right amount of water, and mix well.
Step 12:
Drain the fish balls and stir fry evenly. Cook for about 2 minutes on low heat and until the liquid thickens. Slide the fish balls onto a skewer or toothpick and serve on their own with a dipping sauce, or use them in another dish or soup as I show you next.
Second Method (deep-fried fish balls):
Step 1:
Pour the oil into a pot and heat on high until smoking.
Take the right amount of fish mixture with one hand, squeeze mixture out from your fist and shape it into a ball using a spoon, as shown in the picture below. Place the fish ball on a spoon and put it into the pot.
Step 2:
Fry until the fish ball is golden, and then remove.
Step 3:
Serve with rice sauce or tomato sauce according to your taste.
There are many ways to eat fish balls. In addition to the above two methods of eating, they can also be used to make fish ball soup.
The traditional fish ball soup only has fish balls, pepper, and seaweed.
COOKING TIPS:
1. Fish balls are usually made with fish such as grass carp, silver carp or white fish. But I prefer to use Snakehead Fish to make fish balls (in this recipe, I use Bighead carp since I couldn’t buy Snakehead Fish), because it tastes delicious and has high nutritional value.
It is rich in protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and various organic acids. It is suitable for a weak body, low proteinemia, spleen and stomach qi deficiency, malnutrition, anemia.
2. Fish balls can be cooked ahead of time and frozen. You can make a big batch and freeze them, having them at the ready when guests drop by.
To freeze fish balls: After cooking, drop them in cold water to cool down, drain and put into a sealed bag and store in the freezer.
Once thawed, serve them your favorite way, or just with some dipping sauce as a snack.
Easy Way To Make Fish Balls And Two Ways To Eat Them
Ingredients
- 1 fresh Bighead carp
- 1 egg
- Half a lemon
- 20 grams starch
- Ketchup to taste
- Rice sauce to taste (You can use light soy sauce instead.)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- oil: enough to deep fry the fish balls
Instructions
- Wash the fish, cut off the head and tail, and split it into two pieces from the middle. (It is recommended that you use Snakehead Fish to make fish balls. When cutting, you can put a piece of wet cloth under the chopping board to prevent it from slipping.)
- Remove the fish bones and spine from the middle of the fish. Then remove the skin.
- Cut the fish obliquely into fillets. (A fish weighing 2 kilograms, which will be about 450 grams of fish fillets, can make about 30 fish balls.)
- Mash up the fish into a fish paste. (Key point: the fish must be fine; smash up the small bones in the fish, or you can use a food processor, to make it easier.
- Place the fish puree in a bowl, add the salt, and cooking wine, and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
- Add the egg whites and stir in one direction with your hand. (Be sure to follow one direction when stirring, and stir vigorously, so that the fish balls will be more elastic. Keep stirring for about 10-15 minutes, without stopping.
- Add a little water (about 5ml) while stirring. (The fish will be a little dry, and this helps to make the fish more tender and smooth. After adding water, you must continue to stir constantly, otherwise the fish balls will fall apart.)
- Add the cornstarch and continue to mix well in the same direction.
- Fill your pot half way with boiling water. Take the right amount of fish mixture with one hand, squeeze mixture out from your fist and shape it into a ball using a spoon, as shown in the picture below. Place the fish ball on a spoon and put it into the pot of water.
- Continue to cook fish balls until they float to the surface, and when the foam from the water starts to overflow, remove them and put them in cool water to cool them. (The cold water can be changed once during the cooling period to ensure that the water temperature is always cold. The cold water helps to make the fish balls more firm.)
- Pour a little cooking oil into the pan. When the pan is hot, add the tomato sauce and then pour in the right amount of water, and mix well.
- Drain the fish balls and stir fry evenly. Cook for about 2 minutes on low heat and until the liquid thickens. Slide the fish balls onto a skewer or toothpick and serve on their own with a dipping sauce, or use them in another dish or soup as I show you next.
