Everything about Fish Ball totally explained
» For the Jewish version of fish balls, see Gefilte fish.
Fish balls is a commonly cooked food in
southern China and
overseas Chinese communities. As the name suggests, the ball is made of
fish meat that has been finely pulverized. Gourmet fish balls are pulverized by hand. Fish balls are a type of food product made from
surimi (魚漿).
Terminology
魚蛋 and 魚旦 can been used interchangeably, and are pronounced the same. 魚旦 is used at street hawker stalls and
dai pai dong 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 Kong. One is smaller in size, yellow in colour, usually made with cheaper meat, and is sold in skewer, each skewer containing five to seven fish balls skewer on a
bamboo skewer. Usually sold at food stalls. There are many stalls which support themselves just by selling this kind of fish ball, similar to
hot dog stands in the
United States. The fish balls can be either
spicy (often called
curry 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
taste. This kind of fish ball is usually eaten with
noodles at
restaurants providing
Chiuchow-style noodle, and at some
cha chaan tengs, which also provide
beef ball (牛丸) and
cuttlefish ball (墨魚丸). Readily available in traditional market and
supermarket, the fish ball is also a popular ingredient for
hot pot.
One well known and popular purveyor of fish balls in broth is
On Lee Fish Ball Noodles, in
Shau Kei Wan.
Taiwan
Thailand
In Thailand, fish balls are commonly served grilled or in Chinese-influenced noodle soups.
Chiuchow
Malaysia
Fish balls are cooked in many ways in
Malaysia. Fish balls can served with soup and noodles like the Chiuchow style or served with
Yong tau foo. 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
cuttlefish or
pollock and served with a sweet and spicy sauce or with a thick black sweet and sour sauce.
Fish balls in the
Philippines 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: Sour (pale orange colored) - vinegar, water, diced onions and garlic, Sweet (brown gravy colored) - corn starch, banana catsup, sugar and salt, and Hot/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 kekiam. The last are low cost renditions vaguely resembling original Chinese delicacy of the same (soundwise) name. Chicken and squid balls as well as kekiam sell at 4 US Cents. Regular fishballs sell at 1 US Cent.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fish Ball'.
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