How to make Fuzhou fish balls?

Fuzhou fish balls are stuffed meatballs with fish meat as the skin. The ingredients are carefully selected and the production is exquisite. The skin is thin and even, the color is white and bright, the food is smooth and crisp, and the soup is meaty and not greasy. It is one of the local snacks with Fuzhou characteristics and is widely praised. Next, I will share with you the detailed method of making Fuzhou fish balls. I hope you like it.

Contents of this article

1. How about Fuzhou fish balls?

2. How to make Fuzhou fish balls

3. Why do we need to add oil when making fish balls?

How about Fuzhou fish balls

Fuzhou fish balls are made by chopped eel, mackerel or freshwater fish, adding sweet potato flour (starch) and mixing evenly, and then filling them with lean pork or shrimp. It is one of the local snacks with Fuzhou characteristics.

Fuzhou fish balls are stuffed meatballs with fish meat as the outer skin. The ingredients are carefully selected and the production is exquisite. The skin is thin and even, the color is white and crystal clear. The food is smooth and crisp, and the soup is meaty and not greasy.

Fuzhou is close to the sea and has abundant aquatic products. Therefore, over the past thousand years, fish balls have gradually become the main fish snack in Fuzhou and are widely praised.

There is a saying in Fuzhou that "no fish balls, no feast". Especially the overseas Chinese who come back to visit relatives in Fuzhou like to taste the fish balls from their hometown to satisfy their appetite. According to the custom in Fuzhou, when a banquet is held, the guests must "take the wine bag". In the past, there were fish balls in the "wine bag", which were as big as a child's fist. After "taking them home", they had to be cut into small pieces for everyone to eat. Some people also like to eat small fish balls without fillings, which are specially made by someone and are very elastic.

Fuzhou fish balls recipe

1. Remove the skin and bones of the shark meat and wash it.

2. Use a knife to slowly scrape the fish meat in one direction.

3. Add 50 grams of water to the clean fish meat and put it into a blender to make fish paste.

4. Pour the fish paste into a large bowl, add salt, and beat in one direction with a hand mixer.

5. Pour in the sweet potato flour in several batches and add MSG and fish sauce for seasoning.

6. Continue beating for 30 minutes (the longer you beat, the chewier the fish balls will be). Put some fish paste into clean water again and see it float. The fish paste is ready.

7. Mix the minced pork belly with dark soy sauce, salt, sugar and chopped green onion, and divide into several portions.

8. Hold the fish paste in your hand and put the fillings in the fish paste.

9. Use your thumb to move the fish paste to cover the filling, then gently clench your palms to squeeze the fish paste and filling into meatballs.

10. Use a round spoon to scoop up the meatballs.

11. Gently place it in a pot filled with clean water, and let the buoyancy of the water let the fish balls escape from the spoon.

12. After all the fish balls are put into the water, slowly boil it over medium-low heat.

Why do we need to add oil to make fish balls?

It can make the fish balls smoother and more tender, and taste better. Adding some starch will make the fish balls more chewy.

In order to enhance the elasticity of fish balls, a certain amount of starch should be added when stirring the fish paste. Potato starch has the best elasticity, followed by corn starch, and wheat starch has the worst. After the salt dissolves the actomyosin, the protein gel is like a network structure. At this time, adding starch will densify this network structure. At the same time, the addition of starch enhances the water absorption of the protein sol and prevents the precipitation of jelly. In addition, starch acts as an emulsifier between the fish protein, fat, and water, enhancing the viscosity of the fish paste, which is convenient for the formation of fish balls and improves the elasticity of fish balls. However, the amount of starch should be moderate. Too little thickening power is insufficient and cannot meet the production requirements; too much will make it hard and have low buoyancy, which also affects the quality of the fish balls.