Fish Ball Recipe (Steamed Fish Balls with Bean Curd Sticks)
February 26th, 2008 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Malaysian Recipes | 25 Comments
One thing I don’t like about eating dim sum in the United States is the lack of fish ball offerings. If you recall my previous posts about sweet and sour fish balls and yong tow foo, I am partial to fish ball-related foods: deep-fried, stuffed in vegetables or tofu (like Malaysian yong tow foo/酿豆腐), in soup, or steamed.
Whenever I go home to Malaysia and have dim sum, I would order trays after trays of fish ball dim sum. They are usually lightly fried and then steamed. Some of them are just plain steamed fish balls and some are pan-fried and drenched in savory bean sauce. Whichever way they are prepared, fish balls found in Malaysian dim sum restaurants are springy, utterly addictive (you just want more after the first taste) and delicious, and below is the picture of fish balls served in dim sum restaurant in Malaysia.
So, when I crave for fish ball dim sum, I make mine at home. They are very easy to make because I cheat with store-bought fish paste. I add some chopped garlic into the fish paste and steam them over a bed of bean curd sticks, a trick that I learned from a dim sum restaurant.
These steamed fish balls are so good with chili sauce. I just can’t get enough of them.
Love the recipe? Here are more dim sum and fish balls recipes on Rasa Malaysia:
- Char Siu Bao
- Sweet and Sour Fish Balls
- Yong Tow Foo (Stuffed Tofu, Chili, and Okra with Fish Paste)
- More Yong Tow Foo
- Chicken Shu Mai
- Red Bean Paste Steamed Buns (Tau Sar Bau)
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
Ingredients:
1/2 container fish paste (I used this)
2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes of white pepper powder
3 bean curd sticks
A pinch of salt
Some green peas (for garnishing)
Method:
Soak the bean curd sticks in hot water to soften them. Cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Heat up a small pot of water and add in some salt. Drop the bean curd sticks into the boiling water to cook them. Remove the bean curd sticks from the water and arrange them on small dim sum plates.
Defrost the frozen fish paste and add in minced garlic, sesame oil, and pepper. Blend well and form them into balls and place them on top of the beancurd sticks. Garnish with a green pea.
Steamed the dim sum fish balls for 5 minutes. Serve hot immediately with chili sauce.
Related Recipes:
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Looking at the second photo on your page, I could have sworn you took it at one our home-grown dim-sum restaurants… Authentic-nyer… :)
Oh, that dish looks absolutely lovely and refined!
Cheers,
Rosa
Absolutely wonderful photos, Bee. I’m definitely in the mood for some of these now!
Interesting – fish paste in a container! Like yoghurt!! :D
I’m pretty partial to fishball myself. Couldn’t find any here (I’m in the middle east), so I used Fatboybakes’ fish paste recipe – easy and tasty!
BTW, I tried the Bango kecap manis. It tastes exactly like the dark sauce in Indomie Mee Goreng! Heaven!! I always thought the little bitty sauce in the noodle packet was never enough, and now I can get it by the bottle!! Yay!
I adore fish balls but i love squid balls more. Anyway, this used to be an afternoon snack for us back home. There is a fishball/squid ball cart in front of the office and you eat it from a stick with sweet and sour sauce. Anyway, this dimsum has me drooling because I love bean curd sheets too.
Hmm I didn’t know some fish ball dim sum are fried first before steaming..
Nice recipe :)
i like the idea of fish balls sitting on bean curd sticks… yummy!
One of my favourite foods: fish balls! I love them deep fried and dipped in chilli sauce – simple but fattening!
fish balls are my fav too!
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hmm not the biggest fan of fishballs, but they are good ones available here in hong kong. i think fish balls are part of hk food culture just like sg and my hehe…the most popular one being spicy curry fishball skewers sold by street snack vendors…it’s funny to see groups of people holding a stick of spicy fishballs on 1 hand, sweating & gasping for air from the heat of the curry sauce, and trying not to get the dripping sauce on their shoes…the best ones (with longest queue of locals) are from a small shop, tucked in the corder of prince edward’s fa yuen street market, i’ll bring u there when u re in hk hehe
Haha, I’ve been to that one! I’m usually not much of a fish ball person either, but when it comes to curry fish ball skewers.. *salivates!* And sorry this is probably off topic, but I just had to comment on your description of eating curry fish ball skewer! HAHA! That is totally what every one does! And especially the bit about getting the sauce on our shoes! XD!!
I’m going to have half a box of fish paste left after making a omelet. That’s a great idea!
The dim sum in my local restaurants never looks that beautiful!
All types of dim sum looks so pretty and delicious! Wanted to taste it so badly!
You sure craving for Dim Sum when seeing them piping hot from the streamer…Yummy..i’m drooing..must go makan this week..LOL
Its wonderfull :) thank u a lot :)
iv never had dim sum eversince i moved here and not sure if id ever since im so used to the dim sums in Msia. And i think tht goes to almost all chinese food too. I only like them when theyr prepared by a Msian. Guess my tastebud already stuck to a certain taste. lol.
I grew up eating fish balls with everything and all the time, my parents were crazy about them! Your steamer photos look like they should be in a magazine. They’re the perfect portion size too, but I just might have to order about 3 of yours!
This looks tasty. Now that I think about it I haven’t had fish balls when eating dim sum.
Fish balls hold such a nostalgic place in my heart, and I definitely miss them whenever I have dim sum in the States. Thank you for the great recipe!
I now know how to make fish ball dim sum thanks to your fish ball dim sum recipe.
So glad I stumbled upon your website and then, not only to see a recipe for making fish ball dim sum, but also your crucial hint of how to get a hold of the fish paste. (the photo of the container of fish emulsion was extremely helpful!). I have been in the US for 16 years and have only been back in Singapore twice and I had resigned myself to missing the taste of a good bowl of fish ball noodles. So, thanks so very much for your blog, and pictures that are fit to be drooled over.
this website is a god given boon..wish i could cook everything here..wow..
Rachith, thanks so much for your sweet note. :)
Anyone care to share where can i find the fish paste in container in KL?tks in advance