fish balls

[mrbigjas]

OK so at the asian store this week, i bought a package of fish balls. these are the already fried kind, refrigerated in a vacuum packet, but they say on the package 'recook before eating.'

what should i be making? googling recipes turns up all kinds of recipes for making the fish balls, but none that i can find for recipes including pre-made ones.

are there recipes involving these fish balls that aren't soup? or that don't involve 20 other ingredients that i can't get before tonight?

any kind of pointers from anyone would be greatly appreciated. anyone?

(i'm not sure whether to post this in the china or the elsewhere in asia forum, so i'm going for cooking. i may repost...)

[sanrensho]

Are you sure they're deep fried? It doesn't matter, but you could make a simple hot pot in chicken consomme/stock or other stock.

Throw in whatever vegetables/protein you have. For example, tofu, meat, poultry, scallions, carrots, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, rice vermicelli noodles (these cook quickly so add at the end), etc. Ladle into bowls with a little of the broth and your favorite condiment such as a chilli sauce or even just a little fish sauce. Enjoy with a bowl of rice.

[OnigiriFB]

You could make Thai green curry. Fish balls is actually common in green curry.

[mrbigjas]

i think they're fried, or at least i thought it said that on the package, which of course i don't have in front of me, so i can't confirm it.

a hotpot sounds like a good idea. is there anything else people do with them besides put them in soup or serve on skewers with chili sauce?

edited because i crossposted with onigiriFB there. green curry, huh? i didn't know that. i've always had them in soups. that sounds like a great idea.

Edited February 1, 2006 by mrbigjas (log)

[snowangel]

Add them to an Asian Noodle Soup. They are very common in noodle soups sold at stalls and noodle carts in Thailand.

[annachan]

You can use fishball as the protein in a stir fry dish. I would cut them in half if using as stir-fry. An idea is to stir fry them with bean sprout, julienne carrot and celery w/ a little soy, Chinese wine and sugar. You can also add it some fried bean curd cut into strip, green onion, ginger and/or scrambled eggs. This stir fry goes well w/ rice or in a wrap of your choice.

A favorite street food in Hong Kong is curry fish ball. Just cook the fishball in your favorite curry sauce. It's typically done in yellow curry there. If you don't like curry, you can also cook them in a soy based sauce. I'm not sure of the exact ingredients, I'm sure soy sauce and sugar is in that mixture. You can add some chili sauce if you like them hot.

[mrbigjas]

ok home now and checking the package:

fried fish ball

recook before eating

contents: fresh fish whiting, seatrout, corn starch, egg white, peanut oil, msg, water, sugar, black pepper

so i wasn't remembering wrong!

edited because i crossposted with annachan--thank you! i may do just that!

Edited February 2, 2006 by mrbigjas (log)

[Jambalyle]

I didn't know fish had balls?

And I'd be really nervous "googling" fish balls...

Otherwise, in our household, fish balls = gefilte fish

[mrbigjas]

well, i decided to do the curry thing. and it was good. i'm going to get these things more often. i always like them whenever i have them, but just never thought of buying them for myself. and they cost practically nothing!

[OnigiriFB]

The green curry or the stir fry curry? After I read they were fried I wasn't sure how it would be in green curry. The fish balls I normally get or just normal white colored balls found in the frozen food section of the Asian market. I usually get fish balls, meat balls, pork balls, and shrimps balls; when I get home I put them in a gallon sized plastic bag and when I'm making ramen or asian noodle soups I just toss a hand full into the pot. Yummy, satisfying, and filling.

[mrbigjas]

not the green curry, the stir fry curry. with some carrots and celery; a side of yu choy with oyster sauce.

i would have made the green curry, but i didn't have coconut milk. and it turned out so good that i'm glad i didn't, now.

that's a great idea, just keeping them around all the time.

Edited February 2, 2006 by mrbigjas (log)

[DerekW]

Somewhere, I have a recipe for baking the non-fried fish-ball version in ramekins of an egg and shallot mixture. Thai, IIRC. Maybe it was a savoury custard rather than just eggs. Seemed like a neat idea anyway.