Fish balls are balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep-fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, cornstarch, or potato starch.
Fish balls are popular in East and Southeast Asia,
Production
There are two variants of fish balls, differing in textures, production method, and primary regions of production.
Asia
While the ingredients and methods are similar between countries, differences can be noted in terms of elasticity, colour, and flavour. Fish balls in Hong Kong and the Philippines can be more firm, darker, and have more fishy taste and aroma than their Malay and Singaporean counterparts.
Taiwanese fish balls have more bounce and more air incorporated to allow for soaking up soups or sauces.
Typically fish are shredded, coarsely ground, or pounded, then undergo prolonged mixing with added salt and crushed ice until a smooth texture is attained. Other ingredients are added, such as sugar, monosodium glutamate, transglutaminase, or starches, and then water is added to ensure the ball has a "soft, springy texture." This technique, similar to the process of making surimi, uncoils and stretches previously wound and tangled protein strands in the fish, which produces food with a firm "bouncy" texture. In Taiwan, the term "Q" is used to describe this ideal bouncy texture.
In commercial production, the balls are shaped by an extruding machine, and set in water between 30 and 45 C. before boiling, cooling, then packaging.
The variety of fish used in surimi can affect commercial fish ball production, due to the difference in thermal stability between tropical fish and cold-water fish.
Europe
fish balls are made of completely pureed fish, milk, and potato flour (or potato starch), and they are shaped without additional processing, which produces a softer texture. This type of fish ball usually comes in metal cans or transparent plastic containers containing stock or brine and also requires a setting period prior to canning.
Shelf life
Fish balls are perishable, and have a different
shelf life based on the amount of processing and the inclusion of additives. Uncooked fish balls have a shelf life of 4 to 5 days when stored at 5 °C.
A fried, marinated fish ball can last up to 135 days at ±4 °C.
Mislabeling issues
While fish balls can contain other seafood or meat products (such as squid, cuttlefish, or shrimp balls), studies conducted on processed seafood have revealed significant amounts of mislabeling. A 2017 study in Italy and Spain detected mollusks used in surimi products, which is a concern for shellfish allergies.
A 2013–2016 study in the Philippines that identified the genetic code of a variety of fish balls concluded that large, well-established companies generally adhered to labelling standards, but unknown, small producers typically supplying street hawkers revealed seafood balls that contained pig or chicken meat.
A 2019 study by the National University of Singapore showed a 7.8% mislabeling rate for single-type seafood products, and 38.5% mislabeling for products containing multiple meat sources. The study also identified seafood balls containing pig DNA, although none of the samples were labeled as a
halal or
Kosher foods, which would pose a significant concern for the country's Muslim population.
Regional variations
Greater China
Mainland China
Fish balls have a long history in China, and the introduction of fish balls throughout Asia is often attributed to Chinese immigrants. Fish balls can also contain a wide array of seafood and other meats such as beef or pork.
In Hubei, fish balls are made from freshwater fish surimi. A Fuzhou variety (福州鱼丸) is made from fish with a minced pork filling.
Tengxin Foods (Fujian) is one of China's largest fish ball factories, with a 30% market share.
Hong Kong and Macau
Fish balls (魚蛋) are one of Hong Kong's most popular and representative "street foods",
eaten plain or cooked in a curry sauce.
Readily available in traditional markets and supermarkets, fish balls are also a popular ingredient in
hot pot.
Flathead mullet () and daggertooth pike conger () are common fish varieties used for fish balls. Originally they were likely made by mixing and frying the remaining materials of Chaozhou fish ball (潮州白魚丸) or stale fish, although more recently they are mainly imported by wholesalers and the texture is more consistent.[《50經典小吃》刊於2003/01/10《飲食男女》]
There are three kinds of fish balls (, literally "fish eggs"), sold in Hong Kong and Macau. They are yellow, white, and golden. Yellow fish balls are most commonly sold as street food. White fish balls are larger in size and made with white fish, such as Spanish mackerel, with an elastic (bouncy) and fluffy texture and a strong taste of fish. This kind is usually served to complement at Teochew cuisine noodle restaurants,[Man, Joyce "Aberdeen's best fish ball shop to close" CNN Go. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012] and at some cha chaan tengs, which also sell (牛丸) and cuttlefish balls (). White fish balls from traditional fish ball restaurants are made from fresh fish and are normally hand-made (手打) by the owners using traditional techniques. Golden fish ball, also known as Cheung Chau fishball, was a snack produced in Cheung Chau.
During the 1970s and 1980s, "fish ball girl" became a euphemism for underage female sex workers.
Taiwan
Milkfish balls (虱目魚丸) are frequently found in Taiwan. The natural texture and aroma of the
milkfish give this variant a unique taste. This is one of the main ways milkfishes' lesser-prized yet highly abundant white meat is consumed. Other fishes used include shark, lizard fish,
pike eel, and
marlin.
Fish balls with roe (魚包蛋) are served at hot pot restaurants. They have a sweet and salty taste with a popping element from the roe's texture. There is also a fried golden version.
Southeast Asia
Singapore
In Singapore, fish balls are also known as 鱼圆 (yú yuán) or 鱼丸 (yú wán).
Traditionally, fish balls were made from locally sourced fish such as coral fish and dorab. Production scale varies from individual hawker stalls to large corporate factories which supply the local and export markets. Due to higher labour costs and limited local fish supplies, surimi are mostly imported, and fish balls are produced at a lower cost by mixing surimi with fresh leached fish mince. Higher quality fish balls are made from wolf herring, coral fish, Spanish mackerel, and conger eel.
As of 2002, Singapore consumes approximately 10 kg of fish balls per capita per year, possibly the country with the highest consumption of fish balls in the world.
Bak chor mee, a popular Singaporean dish which comes in both dry and soup versions, was listed as the top world street food by World Street Food Congress.
File:Kibun fried fishballs.jpg|Japanese cuisine fried fish balls
File:Fuzhou fishballs and miscellaneous (20150810183946).JPG|Fuzhou fish ball soup
File:LianjiangFishball.jpg|Fuzhou fish ball soup from Lianjiang County
File:Fish Ball Hor Fun Rice Noodle Soup Salt-Baked Chicken Rice - Hakka Teahouse, Glen Waverley AUD9 lunch special.jpg|Hakka fish ball rice noodle soup
File:HK food Chinese dicefish meat balls Nov-2013 酥炸 鯪魚球 九記 Kau Kee Restaurant.jpg|Hong Kong fish balls made from dace
File:Curry Fish Balls 1A.jpg|A bowl of curry fish balls, pork rinds and radish sold in Hong Kong
Indonesia
In
Indonesia, fish balls are called
bakso ikan (fish
bakso) and often served with tofu, vegetables, and fish
otak-otak in clear broth soup as
tahu kok. It may be thinly sliced as additional ingredient in
mie goreng,
kwetiau goreng,
nasi goreng and
cap cai. A similar dish is called
pempek, in which surimi is shaped into logs and fried
. There are some dishes of fish ball soup called
bakso kakap (snapper fish ball soup) from
Semarang and
bakso ikan marlin (sailfish or blue marlin fish ball soup) from Pesisir Barat,
Lampung.
Brunei
In Brunei, fish balls are called
bebola ikan.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, fish balls are known as 鱼丸 (yú wán in
Mandarin Chinese, jyu4 jyun2 in
Cantonese, or hî-oân / hîr-oân / hû-oân in
Hokkien) or 鱼蛋 (yú dàn in Mandarin, jyu4 daan3 in Cantonese), and
bebola ikan in
Malay language. Popular dishes include fish ball noodle soup.
Philippines
In the Philippines, there are fish balls (
pishbol) and a similar dish called
bola-bola, which is the same meat paste as fish cake, but wrapped in a
wonton skin.
, corn starch and baking powder are common ingredients.
Thailand
In Thailand, fish balls are fried or grilled as snacks.
In main dishes, fish balls are in Chinese style noodle soups and
Thai curry dishes such as
Kaeng khiao wan luk chin pla, a
green curry.
The most common varieties of fish used are threadfin bream, bigeye snapper, Croaker fish, lizard fish, goatfish,
File:Tahu Pong Bakso Ikan.jpg| Bakso ikan (fish balls) with tofu soup in Indonesia
File:Kampar delicacy deep fried fishball.JPG|Deep-fried fish balls in a noodle soup from Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
File:Fish balls.jpg|Fried fish balls from the Philippines
File:FishBallVermicelli.JPG|Fish balls with vermicelli sold in Bukit Batok, Singapore
File:Kaeng kiao wan luk chin pla.jpg|Thai cuisine kaeng khiao wan luk chin pla, green curry with fish balls
File:Bun Rieu - Dakao Hoang.jpg|Vietnamese bún riêu
Europe
Northern Europe
Known as
Fiskbullar in
Sweden and
fiskeboller in
Norway and
Denmark, Nordic fish balls are white and without breading.
-
In Norway, fish balls (fiskeboller
-
In Sweden, fiskbullar are normally served with mashed potatoes or rice, boiled green peas and dill, caviar or seafood sauces.
-
Iceland has two varieties; Fiskbollur is very similar to those of Norway and Sweden,
-
In the Faroe Islands, fish balls are called knettir and are made with groundfish and mutton fat.
Germany
German fish balls, known locally as fischklößchen, rely heavily on herbs and herb sauces.
Gefilte fish, typical of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, has origins in 14th century non-Jewish Germanic cookery. Originally a stuffed fish dish, it suited the dietary cultural needs for Jewish celebrations, being an acceptable form of meat as well as already deboned which adheres to the restriction on picking through bones on the Sabbath. Jewish communities have their own versions based on local ingredients, such as the addition of sugar in Poland, black pepper in Lithuania, and cooking it in a tomato sauce in Libya.
England
A classic English variant (as well as in the US) uses cooked mashed potato and egg as a binder, and is pan fried. Cod is a popular fish for this style.
"The Lone Fish-ball" was published in 1855 by George Martin Lane referencing this type of fish ball popular in New England.
Italy
Italian fish balls, known locally as polpette di pesce, are fried with
Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs, and usually served with a tomato sauce. They can be found both as rounded balls and as patties.
File:Fiskbullar2.jpg|Fiskbullar atop rotini pasta
File:Fishballs.JPG|Jewish cuisine fish balls in tomato sauce
File:Fischkloesschen-01.jpg|German fischklößchen
File:Fishballs with crab and corguette (6340237273).jpg|Italian cuisine with crab and zucchini
File:Quinoa crab fishballs (23222646225).jpg|Italian crab fish balls with quinoa
File:Gefilte fish balls for Rosh Hashanah.jpg|Jewish gefilte fish balls served during Rosh Hashanah
West Africa
Fish balls are known as
boulettes de poisson in Francophone African countries, and are commonly eaten in a tomato-based stew known as 'tchou' or 'chu' a Senegalese dish mainly known in
Mauritania,
Mali and
Gambian cuisine.
is a fish ball dish from
Sierra Leone that incorporates
ginger.
See also
External links
