Help with various Asian frozen "balls"

[rotuts]

Ive long looked at the various frozen 'balls' they have in the Asian markets. On my last trip,

while picking up some frozen dumplings etc ( Prime Food ) as recommended by huiray

I picked up some cuttlefish, pork, and fish balls.

what is not clear to me is are these cooked and can be used just heated through in soup etc or

do they need cooking. If they do need cooking, about how long in say a soup prep?

once cooked, can they be used in a noodle/pasta dish 'as meat-balls' ?

other interesting uses? your favorite brands?

many thanks.

Edited March 4, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

Just to add a little color to the question, and maybe you've seen these at your local Chinese Market:

[GlorifiedRice]

TY for posting this!

I have an additional question...

Are these considered "Oden"?

[JTravel]

Good timing....on Sat. I visited our newly remodeled and improved Asian market. I have seen the various balls in bags before but this place had a regular frozen "buffet" counter. Sorry I didn't take a photo. 6-8 kinds, in open bins with a scoop to fill your bag....all kinds 4.99 a pound. They were very frozen so I was daring and got a few of shrimp and pork ones. I thought they were the kind of thing you get in hot pot.

Will be interested on how people use them.

[rotuts]

for no particular reason Im sticking with the Prime Foods as they are made in the USA for the moment.

nothing wrong with the stuff from China, but well .... maybe Hong Kong.

there are a zillion things from Prime Foods that i never knew anything about.

Kudos huiray 's way!

[Beebs]

I've usually had them in soups or hot pots. Some type of meat/seafood ball is almost always a "must" in hot pot! The seafood balls are pretty common around here in a curry ("curry fishballs"), but I am not a big fan of this preparation. You could slice them up and throw them in chow mein or lo mein - the seafood balls tend to be pretty bouncy in their ball form, unless you want to go chasing them around the kitchen....

I can't tell from the package whether they're pre-cooked or not. Are there cooking directions on the back? In the Asian supermarkets here, you can get them pre-cooked and raw, frozen and fresh.

[huiray]

These balls-of-various-types are often used in soups and broths of some sort, frequently just by themselves. Having them in clear, nicely flavored broths is common - dressed with some scallions or cilantro and such. Or in soups with other veggies. Certainly one can add in other meats as one wishes, but the "classic" manner is not to have too many things in soups where these balls are used. There *are* many "soup-noodle dishes" such as often found sold by hawkers etc (and also in restaurants and made at home) that have meat balls of this type as one of the components, though.

These meat balls should have some "bounce" and "springy-chewiness" to them, with a certain "mouth-feel". In the East and SE Asia there are hawkers who have made tremendous reputations for themselves by turning out exceptionally "springy" and flavorful fish balls, pork balls, beef balls, with great "song hou" [the Cantonese term] texture.

Vietnamese phở is one kind of dish that offers beef balls as one of the "meat" options in combination with the other cuts and stuff typical of the dish. If one wishes, one could have *just* beef balls as the meat by getting Pho Bo Vien.

There are also beef balls with tendon added in (for extra texture).

Many of them are pre-cooked (but not all, I think). It ought to be stated on the package whether they are already cooked or not. For myself, I have never used any of the commercial packages of these balls without cooking them (re-cooking?) anew in broth or soup. I usually simmer them till heated through plus a little bit more, or until they "puff up" (especially w/ fish balls) - but leaving them too long in boiling/simmering broth does degrade the texture as time goes on. They also often become tougher and more chewy, this time not in a good way.

I've used the pork balls, if I remember correctly, in a SE-Asian/E-Asian influenced tomato-based "pasta sauce" but have not really done Western-type cuisine with them. To me, the texture and taste profile clashes a bit with Western spicing & texture profiles, but maybe I just haven't explored using them in those ways properly.

The "cuttlefish balls" are just made from minced cuttlefish meat w/ appropriate binders.

No, these meat/fish balls are not quite "oden", but they (or the Japanese equivalents) can be used in "oden", which is a kind of dish/preparation, not a specific ingredient.

I just took a look in my freezer to see what I had there in terms of these balls - hmm, out of fish balls and pork balls; but there was Venus brand beef meat balls, and a Vietnamese brand (Que Huong Soi) beef balls with tendon. I'm not sure if I've ever tried meat balls from Prime Food; I've got various other brands instead. :-)

[rotuts]

many thanks.

Ill look for Venus brand and Vietnamese brand (Que Huong Soi)

If i remember, Ill try them in a broth with buckwheat noodles, something Im trying to incorporate into my meals and maybe just as

meatballs with these noodles.

[huiray]

Having them in a broth with buckwheat noodles (soba) sounds very nice. :-)

[Keith_W]

Funny, that's what I had for lunch today

I eat them with my instant noodles. How to make: pour the contents of the instant noodle flavouring sachet into water. Add as many frozen meatballs as you like (usually 3-5). I sometimes add dried shiitake mushrooms and tofu as well. Bring to the boil. Once boiling for 5 minutes, add the instant noodles and some veggies (usually choy sum or Chinese cabbage) then turn off the heat. The residual heat will cook through the noodles and veggies. Garnish with spring onion and eat.

Cost of lunch: $2, and it was delicious.

[JTravel]

Sounds like lunch to me....do you cook them from frozen?

[Keith_W]

Yes, cooked from frozen.

[annachan]

As others have said, good in hot pot and noodle soup. In Hong Kong, it's often a snack. You can get skewers of them in curry sauce, soy based sauce or simply fried. I love them in stew with daikon and pork rind. Grilled skewers of them are good too. I've seen them in rice porridge but no a personal favorite of mine.

[liuzhou]

What's in your balls?

[CatPoet]

What does oden mean?

 

The only Oden I know is a  Norse God of wisdom . So please enlighten me!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am fond of Japanese round ice.

[liuzhou]

What does oden mean?

 

The only Oden I know is a  Norse God of wisdom . So please enlighten me!

 

Oden is a Japanese version of hotpot or mixed stew. The Norse god was Odin.

[Paul Bacino]

rather than buying them?

 

Making them shouldn't be to hard?  I just remember eating Pho with , I'm sure pre-package meat.  The texture seems like a finer grind, or meat that has been whipped/stirred slightly for lack of a better word?

 

paul

 

 

[CatPoet]

Thanks Liu... but yes Odin is one of the names but in Sweden we use Oden.

 

Oh Japanese hotpots sounds lovely.