Take the street food vibe at home with fresh and delicious fish balls made with only all-natural ingredients. No more worrying about additives and buying fish balls from street foods with this recipe.
Follow my easy step-by-step guide on how to make your very own fresh fish balls. Choose your favorite fish and prepare the rest of the pantry-friendly ingredients.
What Are Fish Balls?
Fish balls have been a favorite street food in Asia. You can normally find this street food staple in cart stalls served on bamboo skewers. It comes in many variations around the world, such as Chinese fish Balls (鱼蛋) in China, milkfish balls (虱目魚丸) in Taiwan, and yellow, white, and golden fish balls in Hong Kong.
The fish balls are commonly dipped in a savory or sweet sauce or served in an entirely different dish, such as a noodle soup topping or my Savory Fish Balls Soup recipe. It is typically made from blended fish mixed with eggs, flour, or cornstarch to form small chewy balls. You can make a large batch of this and easily stock it in the freezer to cook for later whenever you crave it.
Although this is readily available in street food carts or the frozen section of grocery stores, nothing beats freshly made fish balls without artificial flavors.
In this recipe, I use grass carp as the main ingredient, mixed with green onion and ginger water to form a fish paste. Then, the fish paste is mixed with two egg whites as the binder to maintain its ball shape.
How To Serve Fish Balls
There are many different ways to serve fish balls, from toppings to noodles and sauces. You can have it boiled, steamed, or deep-fried. Here are some excellent ideas to try when you have a fish ball feast.
- Hong Kong curry fish ball skewers
- Hong Kong curry fish ball soup
- Sweet and sour fish balls
- Fried fish balls
- Fish ball noodle soup
- Fish ball chow mein
- Topping for fried rice
- Topping for stir-fried dishes
- Ingredient for Asian-style soups such as Savory Fish Balls Soup
- Fried fish balls with dipping sauce like sweet and sour sauce, spiced vinegar, and sweet and spicy brown sauce.
Tips & Tricks To Make Fish Balls
Making fish balls is not as simple as blending all the ingredients. There are a few crucial steps that you need to follow to have a successful fish ball. Listed below are some of my top tips and tricks when making fish balls, as well as alternatives for each ingredient.
- Choose the freshest and tastiest fish: You can use fresh, frozen, whole, or pre-cut fish. To make it easier to prepare, use a type of fish with lesser bones or bones that are less difficult to remove. Fish filet is an ideal choice if you want to skip deboning and cleaning the fish. Keep in mind that the fish’s color will affect the fish ball’s overall appearance. So, you have to remove its red parts and thoroughly clean them. In the recipe video on Instagram, I used a whole grass carp fish. Alternatively, you can also use Spanish mackerel, cream dory filets, tilapia, catfish, grouper, or cod.
- Make the fish paste with egg whites and make it float: When making the fish paste, it should be thoroughly mixed with green onion and ginger water with a bit of salt. Another essential step in making the paste is whisking the egg whites until frothy. The purpose of a frothy egg white is to add air and volume, making the balls light and airy. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to whisk the egg whites until it becomes frothy. After combining the frothy egg whites with the fish paste, test if the fish ball floats by putting one ball in a bowl of water. If it floats, then it is a successful fish paste. If you don’t have egg whites, you can easily replace them with 2 tablespoons of aquafaba for 1 egg white.
- Shape the fish balls by using the squeeze technique: The fastest and easiest way to shape them into balls is by taking a chunk of meat with one hand and squeezing out a small ball through your thumb and forefinger. Scoop out the ball with a spoon and transfer it to a pot of cold water. This method is a lot easier to do rather than rolling a ball with two hands.
- Make the green onion and ginger water: An additional ingredient to the paste is green onion and ginger water. It makes the fish paste more aromatic and tastier. You can prepare this water mixture by mixing chopped green onions and grated ginger in Mix well until its flavorings are incorporated in the water.
- Store extra fish balls:When storing the extra cooked fish balls, make sure it cools down first before transferring them to an airtight container or ziplock bag. You can keep it in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months.
- Cornstarch Alternative: Cornstarch acts as a binder and helps add texture to the fish balls. If you don’t have cornstarch, use tapioca flour or potato starch. For 1 tbsp of cornstarch, substitute it with 2 tbsp of tapioca flour or 1 tbsp of potato starch.
- MSG Alternative: Monosodium glutamate or MSG only acts as a flavor enhancer for a more intense umami taste. It is a typical ingredient in stir-fried dishes and street foods. If you do not want to use MSG, you can use soy sauce, fish sauce, or broth cubes without MSG as alternatives.
- Lard Alternative: Lard is made from 100% animal fat, usually from pork. You can learn how to make lard from my recipe. The purpose of lard is for additional flavor and rich texture with a hint of pork flavor. You can remove this from the recipe ingredients and replace it with vegetable shortening, butter, or vegetable oil.
Things Needed To Make Fish Balls
A few kitchen tools can make your life easier when making the recipe. I suggest using a kitchen weighing scale to measure the 500g fish paste. In addition, although you can whisk the egg whites manually by hand, I highly recommend using an electric hand mixer to help whisk faster without much effort.
You can use a blender, food processor, or hand mixer to blend everything together for the fish paste. Prepare any pot or pan you have for boiling the fish balls. Here are the ingredients and other things needed for the recipe:
Kitchen Tools
- Knife and chopping board
- Kitchen weighing scale
- Mixing bowls
- Blender
- Whisk
- Electric hand mixer
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 whole fish (I used grass carp)
- 1 tsp salt
- 50ml green onion and ginger water
- 15g of salt
- 1/2 tsp MSG
- 2 egg whites
- 25g cornstarch
- 20g lard
How To Make Fish Balls
My recipe instructions are divided into three parts: prepare the fish, make the fish paste, and cook the fish balls. Follow my detailed instructions below for a successful fish ball. You can also watch how I did it in my Instagram and Tiktok tutorial videos.
Prepare The Fish
Clean the fish by chopping the head off, cutting it in half lengthwise, and peeling off the skin.
Chop the fish into smaller pieces, about 1 inch thick. Remove the red parts of the fish filets. Otherwise, it will not make the balls white.
Then, chop the fish into small pieces to break the bones that attach to the spine.
Next, measure the fish filets. In my recipe, my fish filets weighed 424 grams. You will need to make about 500g of fish paste with this.
Afterward, add a teaspoon of salt and mix it well with the fish.
Rinse the fish with water several times until the water becomes clear in the last rinse.
Take out the fish and squeeze out excess water.
Make The Fish Paste
In a blender, blend the chopped fish with green onion and ginger water. It should become paste-like.
Transfer the blended fish paste to a bowl and combine with 15g of salt.
Then, add MSG if desired and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites using chopsticks or a whisk and then use an electric hand mixer. It should become white and frothy.
Test the frothiness by placing a chopstick in the middle. It should not fall down and remain standing.
Combine the frothy egg white with the fish paste and mix thoroughly.
Do a float test. Take a piece of the fish ball and see if it floats in a bowl of water. It is successful if it floats.
Afterward, add the cornstarch and lard to the fish paste. Stir everything well.
Cook The Fish Balls
Take a chunk of meat with one hand and squeeze out a small ball through your thumb and forefinger.
Scoop out the ball with a spoon and transfer it to a pot of cold water.
Lastly, cook the fish balls on low heat. It should give you soft, chewy, and firm fish balls.
Serve while hot with your favorite dipping sauce, noodles, or soup.
The Best Homemade Fresh Fish Balls Recipe
Equipment
- Knife and chopping board
- Kitchen weighing scale
- Mixing bowls
- Blender
- Whisk
- Electric hand mixer
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 whole fish I used grass carp
- 1 tsp salt
- 50 ml green onion and ginger water
- 15 g of salt
- 1/2 tsp MSG
- 2 egg whites
- 25 g cornstarch
- 20 g lard
Instructions
Prepare The Fish
- Clean the fish by chopping the head off, cutting it in half lengthwise, and peeling off the skin.
- Chop the fish into smaller pieces, about 1 inch thick.
- Remove the red parts of the fish filets. Otherwise, it will not make the balls white.
- Then, chop the fish into small pieces to break the bones that attach to the spine.
- Next, measure the fish filets. In my recipe video, my fish filets weighed 424 grams. You will need to make about 500g of fish paste with this.
- Afterward, add a teaspoon of salt and mix it well with the fish.
- Rinse the fish with water several times until the water becomes clear in the last rinse.
- Take out the fish and squeeze out excess water.
Make The Fish Paste
- In a blender, blend the chopped fish with green onion and ginger water. It should become paste-like.
- Transfer the blended fish paste to a bowl and combine with 15g of salt.
- Then, add MSG if desired and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites using chopsticks or a whisk and then use an electric hand mixer. It should become white and frothy.
- Test the frothiness by placing a chopstick in the middle. It should not fall down and remain standing.
- Combine the frothy egg white with the fish paste and mix thoroughly.
- Do a float test. Take a piece of the fish ball and see if it floats in a bowl of water. It is successful if it floats.
- Afterward, add the cornstarch and lard to the fish paste.
- Stir everything well.
Cook The Fish Balls
- Take a chunk of meat with one hand and squeeze out a small ball through your thumb and forefinger.
- Scoop out the ball with a spoon and transfer it to a pot of cold water.
- Lastly, cook the fish balls on low heat. It should give you soft, chewy, and firm fish balls.
- Serve while hot with your favorite dipping sauce, noodles, or soup.
3 Questions about Recipe::
1. How much green onion and how much ginger to put into water?
2. How long to cook on low?
3. How to know when the fish balls are done cooking?
Thank you,
Emily D.
Hi Emily,
1. chopped green onions (About 2 green onions.)
chopped ginger (About 15g ginger.)
2. Cook about 10-15 minutes, I think that it depends, cook until the fish balls float.
3. Fish balls will float to the surface of the boiling water as they cook. Once they start floating, they are usually close to being done. You can continue to cook them for a few more minutes to ensure they are fully cooked.
You can use a fork or skewer to pierce one fish ball, and if it slides easily through the center, they are likely done.
Your fishball tutorial looks amazingly tempting and inspiring, and it’s also very clear and thorough in your explanatory.
I will definitely give it a a go and see how it will turn out; whether or not, it would be as nice as you have depicted.
Thanks for sharing and I will visit again.
Kind regards,
Miranda
Hi Miranda,
You’re very welcome! I’m delighted to hear that you found the fishball tutorial inspiring and clear. The fish ball recipe is definitely worth a try!
I hope your cooking adventure with fishballs turns out wonderfully. If you ever have more questions, need further assistance, or just want to share your culinary experiences, feel free to reach out.
Happy cooking, and I look forward to having you visit again. Kind regards!