Fish balls are a commonly cooked food in southern China and
overseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
communities. As the name suggests, the ball is made of
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
meat that has been finely pulverized. Gourmet fish balls are pulverized by hand. Fish balls are a type of food product made from
surimiSurimi is a Japanese loan word referring to a fish-based food product intended to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab and other shellfish. It is typically made from white-fleshed fish that has been pulverized to a paste and attains a rubbery texture when cooked...
(魚漿).
魚蛋 (literally "fish eggs") is 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".-Characteristics:...
in Hong Kong. 魚丸 (yú wán) and 鱼圆 (yú yuán) are more commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia.
Nearly all meatballs (pork, beef, fish, etc...) made in Asia differ significantly in texture to their counterparts with European origins.
Fish balls are a commonly cooked food in southern China and
overseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
communities. As the name suggests, the ball is made of
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
meat that has been finely pulverized. Gourmet fish balls are pulverized by hand. Fish balls are a type of food product made from
surimiSurimi is a Japanese loan word referring to a fish-based food product intended to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab and other shellfish. It is typically made from white-fleshed fish that has been pulverized to a paste and attains a rubbery texture when cooked...
(魚漿).
Terminology
魚蛋 (literally "fish eggs") is 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".-Characteristics:...
in Hong Kong. 魚丸 (yú wán) and 鱼圆 (yú yuán) are more commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia.
Production
Nearly all meatballs (pork, beef, fish, etc...) made in Asia differ significantly in texture to their counterparts with European origins. Instead of grinding and forming meats, meat used for making meatballs is pounded. This is also often the case for fillings in steamed dishes. This process is what lends a smooth texture to the meatballs. Pounding unlike grinding uncoils and stretches previously wound and tangled protein strands in meat.
Hong Kong
There are two kinds of fish balls in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
. One is smaller in size, yellow in colour, usually made with cheaper meat, and is sold on a
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
skewerA skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold small pieces of food together. Skewers are used while grilling or roasting meats, and in other culinary applications....
with five to seven fish balls. These type of 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 moist sausage of soft, even texture and flavor, often made from advanced meat recovery or meat slurry. Most types are fully cooked, cured or smoked. It is often placed hot in a special purpose soft, sliced hot dog bun...
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 can be either spicy (often called
curryCurry is a generic description used throughout European and American culture to describe a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine...
fish ball) or not. 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 a form of direct chemoreception and 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. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell,...
. This kind of fish ball is usually eaten with
noodleA noodle is food made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking. The word noodle derives from the German Nudel and may be related to the Latin word nodus...
s at
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s providing
Chiuchow-styleChiuchow cuisine, Teochew cuisine or Chaozhou cuisine or Chaoshan cuisine originates from Chaoshan, a region of China in the north-easternmost area of the Guangdong Province, which includes the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang...
noodleA noodle is food made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking. The word noodle derives from the German Nudel and may be related to the Latin word nodus...
, and at some
cha chaan tengA cha chaan teng is a type of Chinese tea restaurant commonly found in Hong Kong, known for its eclectic and affordable menus which include many dishes from Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Western cuisine. This type of restaurant is 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...
(牛丸) and cuttlefish ball (墨魚丸). Readily available in traditional market and
supermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, the fish ball is also a popular ingredient for
hot potHot pot , or less commonly Chinese fondue, refers to several East Asian varieties of steamboat stew. It consists 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...
.
One well known and popular purveyor of fish balls in broth is On Lee Fish Ball Noodles, in
Shau Kei WanShau Kei Wan or Shaukeiwan, Shaukiwan is a town in Eastern District, Hong Kong. Literally, Shau Kei means a pail, and Wan implies that the town is developed along the coast. Nowadays it is a relatively densely populated town compared with some developing areas.-Name:The name Shau Kei Wan comes...
.
Thailand
In Thailand, fish balls are also very popular. They are usually fried or grilled to be eaten as snack. In Chinese-influenced restaurants, fish balls are cooked in noodle soups and come in many many varieties.
Peninsular Malaysia & Singapore
Fish balls are cooked in many ways in
Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as Malaya or West Malaysia, is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Its area is 50,810 square miles . It accounts for the majority of Malaysia's...
&
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
. 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 and Malaysia. There are also Teochew and Hokkien variations....
. There is also a type called
"Fuzhou fish ball" which has pork fillings with the fish ball.
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 belonging to the Cephalopoda class . Despite their common name, cuttlefish are not fish but mollusks...
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 with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
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.
The latest (2006) iteration 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 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.
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
A wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:The filling is typically made of:...
- Gefilte fish
Gefilte fish are poached fish patties or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
- Jiaozi
Jiǎozi , gyōza , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling, widely popular in China and Japan as well as outside of East Asia, particularly in North America....
- 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
Lion's head is a dish from the Huaiyang cuisine of eastern China, consisting of large pork meatballs stewed with vegetables. There are two varieties: the white , and the red . The plain variety is usually stewed or steamed with napa cabbage...
- 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 is usually poached. Formerly, quenelles were often used as a garnish in haute cuisine; today, they are usually served on their own. Quenelle may also refer to a food item made...
- Meat Ball
- Adiks ball