Curry fish balls
Photo: Thomas.Lu · CC BY 3.0

History

Plain white fish balls have been a Cantonese staple for centuries, sold steamed or in noodle soups since the Qing era. The curry version is pure Hong Kong, invented in the late 1950s when Chiu Chow street hawkers added Hong Kong-style curry powder, sugar, and soy sauce to the broth to give the balls a punchier flavour for snack-by-the-piece street eating. Today Hong Kong eats an estimated 3.75 million curry fish balls a day, more than 50 per person per year. Hop Yik Tai in Sham Shui Po and Mammy Pancake in Tsim Sha Tsui hold the modern canon.

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Common allergens: Fish, Gluten, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g white fish fillet (yellow croaker or sole), skin and bones removed
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 100ml ice-cold water
  • Pinch white pepper
  • Neutral oil for shaping
  • For the curry sauce: 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 3 tbsp Hong Kong-style curry powder (Lee Kum Kee or Koon Yick)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp light soy
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • Bamboo skewers for serving

Method

  1. Blitz the fish fillet, egg white, cornflour, salt, sugar, pepper and ice water in a food processor for 2 minutes to a smooth, sticky paste.
  2. Throw the paste against the bowl 30 times (or knead with wet hands) until it becomes glossy and bouncy; this slaps the fibres into the springy mun bouncy texture.
  3. Wet your hands with neutral oil. Squeeze the paste between thumb and forefinger into 25g balls.
  4. Drop the balls into a pot of barely-simmering salted water; they sink, then float in 4 minutes. Drain.
  5. For the curry sauce: heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry onion and garlic 2 minutes. Add curry powder and tomato paste; toast 1 minute.
  6. Pour in stock, soy, sugar and coconut milk. Simmer 10 minutes until thick.
  7. Drop in the cooked fish balls; simmer 5 minutes to absorb.
  8. Skewer 4 fish balls per stick; serve with extra curry sauce ladled over.

Tip from the editors. Throwing the fish paste against the bowl is non-negotiable; without that mechanical work the balls go dense rather than bouncy.

Where to eat curry fish balls

Curry fish balls in Hong Kong

Hop Yik Tai ★ 4.1

$ Street foodSham Shui Po

Hop Yik Tai on Kweilin Street in Sham Shui Po is the Michelin Street Food cheung fun specialist, steaming silky rice rolls with sweet soy, sesame and chilli.

TryCheung fun with triple sauce

TipGet the triple sauce; the canonical Sham Shui Po combination is sesame, sweet soy and hoisin together.

Directions

Tak Hing Fish Ball Noodle ★ 4.0

$ Street foodKowloon CityCash only

Tak Hing on Fuk Lo Tsun Road in Kowloon City hand pounds its own fish balls fresh each morning, serving them in clear broth with thin noodles.

OrderHand pounded fish balls in soup with thin noodles.

TipOrder the fish balls plus fish skin combination, or buy a bag of the freshly made fish balls to take away.

Directions

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