Ingredients
| FISH BALLS | |
| 400g fish fillets, roughly chopped | |
| 1cm-piece ginger, grated | |
| 1 teaspoon fish sauce | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| 1 clove garlic | |
| ¼ teaspoon white pepper, freshly ground | |
| 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine | |
| ¼ teaspoon sugar | |
| 1 tablespoon cornflour | |
| 1 egg white | |
| FOR THE SOUP | |
| 5g dried seaweed such as wakame (optional) | |
| 1.5 litres chicken stock | |
| 1 tablespoon fish sauce | |
| 1 tablespoon soy sauce | |
| 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine | |
| 3 spring onions, sliced | |
| 1 bunch gai lan or other greens such broccolini, bok choy etc, trimmed into 3cm pieces | |
| 200g rice noodles, soaked in room-temperature water for 10 minutes | |
| 2-3 tablespoons fried shallots | |
| chilli crisp, for garnishing |
I only make fish stock if I have a whole fish so I don’t often have it to hand, but do use it if you have some. I usually prefer the more rounded flavour of chicken stock hence why I use it here.
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Instructions
| 1. | Chill a food processor bowl and blades. |
| 2. | Add the fish fillets and blitz briefly to make a paste, then add the remaining ingredients. |
| 3. | Wet your hands and shape a piece into a small ball. |
| 4. | At this point I usually test to make sure the fish balls will hold together by poaching the first piece in a pan of simmering water before shaping the rest. |
| 5. | Add a little more cornflour to the mix if necessary. |
| 6. | This should make about 30 balls. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up. |
| 7. | SOUP |
| 8. | Rehydrate the seaweed, if using, in water for 10 minutes then chop roughly. |
| 9. | Heat the chicken stock with the fish sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and the white stems of the spring onions. |
| 10. | Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the fish balls and poach over a gentle heat until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes. |
| 11. | Add the gai lan and cook until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. |
| 12. | Add the seaweed and water if using and return to a simmer. |
| 13. | Cook the rice noodles in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes until tender, drain and refresh and put into warmed bowls. |
| 14. | Top with the soup and scatter over the spring onion greens and the fried shallots. Serve with chilli crisp alongside. |
| 15. | VEGETARIAN/VEGAN |
| 16. | Use a firm tofu in place of the fish and add 2 tablespoons karengo flakes or dried crumbled nori to the mix. |
| 17. | Use 25ml aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) in place of the egg white if vegan. |
| 18. | Use a vegetarian fish sauce or miso and vegetable stock. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jess Hemmings