Bouncing Balls... (or how to make fish balls "Q-Q")

Chinese Fish Ball Tang Hoon Soup

When the cold north winds blows, one of the best things to have is a good steaming bowl of soup. I love all manner of soups - thick rich pumpkin soups, old fashioned minestrone with lots of vegetables and beans and my all time favourite; a hearty split pea with ham. Sometimes, I get a craving for soups from my childhood - peppery, garlicky "bak kut teh" (pork rib "tea" / soup) and recently fish ball "tang hoon" (bean vermicelli) soup.

Problem is, out here in the Kootenays, fish balls are as rare as polar bears in the Straits of Malacca. So it's back to DIY. I had tried this once before and ended up with very soft fish balls, more like fish quenelles, rather than the typical springy bouncy texture that chinese fish balls have. This texture is also described as "QQ" - for the life of me, I do not know the chinese word for it, so I'll have to make do with the onomatopoeia.

The key or secret to springy fish balls has to do with food science. Remember how we have to knead bread dough to develop the gluten and make those strands all tangled and tight? And that these gluten strands trap the CO2 given off by the yeast giving a nice crumb and also providing that chewy texture? Meat / fish have protein strands and these strands need to be developed in a similar manner. Typically, the fishmonger in the Asian wet market will take hand-fulls of minced fish meat and slap or thrown them vigorously against the side of a large basin. We do that in the home kitchen too, but being mindful of clean-up afterward, one might chose to do this with the basin in a deep sink or else line your worktop with newspaper. Also important is not to use a food processor that finely minces the fish meat - this makes that tangle of protein strands harder to achieve. Once you have roughly  chopped the fish meat, the remainder of the "mincing" process should be carried out with the flat, non sharp edge of a chef's knife or chinese cleaver.

Pieces of firm white fish

The fish that I used was any firm white fish that I could find in the supermarket. Usually in SE Asia, the best fish balls are made with spanish mackerel or yellowtail snapper.

A word about the other ingredients:
1. Tang Hoon: vermicelli made from mung bean flour - available in most Asian grocers
2. Tian Jin Dong Choy (天津冬菜) - - available in some Asian grocers - salty, garlicky

Tian Jin preserved cabbage

Chinese Fish Balls
Ingredients:
1 kg white fish fillet, deboned (I used haddock)
1-2 tsp table salt (depending on how salty one likes their fish balls)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp white pepper
1 Tabsp corn starch

Method:
1. finely chop then mince the fish meat as described above
2. add the salt and pepper
3. gather up the fish mixture and throw / slap it vigorously against the side of a deep basin (I counted 100 throws)
4. add the cornstarch and mix thoroughly - a few more slaps would not hurt!
5. test cook a fish ball in boiling water to check for taste and texture - if it is not "QQ" enough, throw it about a bit more

Forming & Cooking the fish balls:
1. Bring a large pot of water to simmering (add 1tsp salt to each litre of water)
2. gather up a handful of fish mixture in your left hand (if you are right handed)
3. gently squeeze a small quantity through an "O" created by the thumb and fore-finger of the left hand and using a tablespoon dipped in cold water, scoop up a ball and drop that gently into the simmering water. (it will sink)
4. Once the fish ball is cooked, it will float to the top, scoop it out and place in a bowl.
5. Depending on the size of your pot, you can cook about 6-10 fish balls at a time.

This recipe makes approximately 24 fishballs

Cut the fish into small pieces 

finely chop the fish meat

gather the fish meat in both hands and "slap" it back into the basin with a good wrist action

the final result should look smooth and shiny

Forming the fish balls (1) - take a small handful in non dominant hand

Forming the fish balls (2) - use a teaspoon and scoop a round ball about 2cm diameter

Drop uncooked fish ball into simmering salted water

Fish balls will float when cooked

Fish Ball "Tang Hoon" soup

• 1L fish stock
• 24 fish balls
• handful coriander / cilantro - chopped
• small bunch scallions / spring onions - chopped
• deep dried finely chopped garlic
• deep fried finely sliced shallots
• 2 small bundles bean vermicelli (not rice vermicelli) - soaked in cold water and cut into 3-4inch lengths with a pair of scissors
• 1 Tbsp Tian Jin Dong Choy (天津冬菜) preserved vegetable rinsed and roughly chopped

Make the soup!

1. bring the fish stock to boil
2. add fish balls and preserved vegetable
3. add the vermicelli
4. simmer for 10min
5. season to taste
6. add as much cilantro and spring onions as you like
7. sprinkle with deep friend onions and garlic just prior to serving

Makes 4 servings of 6 fish balls each

cooked fish balls