Fish balls are a common food in
southern ChinaNorthern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
and
overseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
communities made from
surimiSurimi is a Japanese loan word referring to a fish-based food product that has been pulverized to a thick paste and has the property of a dense and rubbery food item when cooked...
(魚漿, yújiāng). They are also common in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, where they are usually made from
codCod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
or
haddockThe haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....
.
Terminology
魚蛋 (literally "fish eggs") are used at street hawker stalls and
dai pai dongDai pai dong is a type of open-air food stall once very popular in Hong Kong. The government registration name in Hong Kong is "cooked-food stalls", but dai pai dong literally means "restaurant with a big license plate", referring to its size of license which is bigger than other licensed street...
in Hong Kong. 魚丸 (yú wán) and 鱼圆 (yú yuán) are more commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia.
Production
Fish balls made in Scandinavia are similar to meatballs, only with fish meat instead of pork or beef.
Meatballs made in Asia differ significantly in texture to their European counterparts. Instead of grinding and forming meats, meat used for making meatballs is pounded, which lends a smooth texture to the meatballs. This is also often the case for fillings in steamed dishes. Pounding, unlike grinding, uncoils and stretches previously wound and tangled protein strands in meat.
Fish balls across various cultures
Faroe Islands
In
Faroe IslandsThe Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, fish balls are called "knettir" and made with ground fish and fat.
Fuzhou
In the Fuzhou area, "Fuzhou fish ball" (福州鱼丸) is made from fish and has minced pork filling within the fish ball.
Hong Kong
There are two kinds of fish balls in
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. One is smaller in size, yellow in colour, made with cheaper meat, and is sold on a
bambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
skewerA skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. They are used while grilling or roasting meats, and in other culinary applications....
with five to seven fish balls. These fish balls are usually sold at food stalls. There are many stalls which support themselves just by selling this kind of fish ball, similar to
hot dogA hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
standsA hot dog stand is a food business stand that sells hot dogs, usually from an external counter on a public thoroughfare such as a road, street, ballpark, mall, or food court....
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The fish balls are usually boiled in a spicy
curryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
sauce. It is one of the most popular and representative "street foods" (街頭熟食) of Hong Kong.
The other kind is bigger in size, white in colour, made with more costly fish meat, and has a considerably different texture and
tasteTaste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
. This kind of fish ball is usually eaten with
noodleThe noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
s at
Chiuchow-styleChiuchow cuisine, Teochew cuisine or Chaozhou cuisine or Chaoshan cuisine originates from the Chaoshan region of China in the north-easternmost area of the Guangdong province, which includes the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang...
noodleThe noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
restaurantA restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, and at some
cha chaan tengA cha chaan teng means tea diner, also called Chinese diner, is commonly found in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, known for its Chinese food, eclectic and affordable menus, which include many dishes from Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Western cuisine. Cha chaan tengs are also popular in Macau...
s, which also provide
beef ballBeef ball is a commonly cooked food in southern China and overseas Chinese communities. As the name suggests, the ball is made of beef that has been finely pulverized. They are easily distinguishable from fish balls due to the beef balls' darker color...
s (牛丸) and cuttlefish balls (墨魚丸). Readily available in traditional markets and
supermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s, the fish ball is also a popular ingredient for
hot potHot pot , less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table...
.
Indonesia
In
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
fish balls is refer as
bakso ikan (fish
baksoBakso or baso is Indonesian meatball or meat paste made from beef surimi and is similar in texture to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. Bakso is commonly made from beef with a small quantity of tapioca flour, however bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken,...
). The most popular bakso are made of
beefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, however fish bakso is also available, served with tofu and fish
otak-otakOtak-otak is a cake made of fish meat and spices. It is widely known across Southeast Asia, where it is traditionally served fresh, wrapped inside a banana leaf, as well as in many Asian stores internationally - being sold as frozen food and even canned food.-Distribution:Otak-otak is found in...
in clear broth soup as tahu kok, or thinly sliced as additional ingredients in mie goreng,
kwetiau gorengChar kway teow, literally "stir-fried ricecake strips", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. The dish was typically prepared at hawker stalls especially in Penang, Malaysia.It is made from flat rice noodles of approximately 1 cm or...
, and
Cap caiCap cai sometimes spelled Cap cay is Hokkien-derived term of a popular Chinese Indonesian stir fried vegetable dish that originates from Fujian cuisine....
..
Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore
Fish balls are cooked in many ways in
Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
&
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Fish balls can be served with soup and noodles like the Chiuchow style or with
Yong tau fooYong tau foo is a Chinese soup dish with Hakka origins commonly found in China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. There are also Teochew and Hokkien variations....
. There is also a type called 'Fish Ball Mee Pok'
Philippines
The most commonly eaten type of fish balls is colloquially known simply as
fishballs. It is somewhat flat in shape and most often made from the meat of
cuttlefishCuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
or
pollockPollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...
and served with a sweet and spicy sauce or with a thick black sweet and sour sauce.
Fish balls in the
PhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
are sold by street vendors pushing wooden deep frying carts. The balls are served skewered, offered with a choice of three kinds of dipping sauces: spicy (white/orange colored) - vinegar, water, diced onions and garlic, sweet (brown gravy colored) - corn starch, banana ketchup, sugar and salt, and sweet/sour (amber or deeper orange colored) - the sweet variety with lots of small hot chilis added. Dark sauces are rare as these are soy sauce based and soy sauce is expensive in terms of food cost for street food.
A recent trend in the Philippine fishball industry is the introduction of 'ball' varieties: chicken, squid (cuttlefish actually), and kikiam. The last are low cost renditions vaguely resembling the original Chinese delicacy of the same (soundwise) name. Chicken and squid balls as well as kikiam sell at 4 US Cents. Regular fishballs sell at 1 US Cent.
Sweden
Fiskbullar (fishbuns) in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
are usually bought in cans, and served with mashed potatoes or rice, boiled green peas and dill, caviar or seafood sauces.
Thailand
In Thai cuisine, fish balls are also very popular. They are usually fried or grilled to be eaten as a snack. In Chinese-influenced restaurants, fish balls are cooked in noodle soups and come in many varieties. Fish balls can also be eaten in a curry. Famous is
kaeng khiao wan luk chin pla,
green curryGreen curry is a variety of curry in Thai cuisine. The name "green" curry derives from the color of the dish. Other Thai curry dishes are identified solely by their colors, such as yellow and red curry. Green curries tend to be as hot as red curries, both being hotter than phanang/padang curries...
with fish balls..
See also
- Prawn ball
Prawn balls are a common cooked food in southern China and overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, with its origin from the cuisine of the Chaoshan region in eastern Guangdong. As the name suggests, the food is balls made with prawn meat that has been finely pulverized...
- Fish slice
Fish cake or fish slice is a commonly cooked food in southern China and overseas Chinese communities. The fillet is made of fish that has been finely pulverized. It is made of the same surimi used to make fish balls.-Usage:...
- Wonton
Not to be confused with WantonA wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:...
- Gefilte fish
Gefilte fish is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.More common since the Second World War are the Polish patties similar to quenelles or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
- Jiaozi
Jiǎozi 餃子 or 饺子 , bánh bột luộc , gyōza , Mo:Mo: or Momocha म:म: or ममचा , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into...
- Pork ball
A pork ball is a Chinese meatball made from finely minced pork, starch, and sometimes cuttlefish to impart a "bouncy" texture and added flavour....
- Lion's head
- Steamed meatball
Steamed meatball is a Cantonese dim sum dish. It is popular in Hong Kong and most overseas Chinatowns. The meatball is made of beef, and usually has a tofu skin layer in the bottom, garnished with some vegetables like scallions. It is served with the standardized non-Chinese worcestershire sauce...
- Quenelle
A quenelle is mixture of creamed fish, chicken, or meat, sometimes combined with breadcrumbs, with a light egg binding. It can also be served vegetarian, or "nature". It is usually poached. Formerly, quenelles were often used as a garnish in haute cuisine; today, they are usually served on their own...
- Meat ball
External links