Homemade Fish Balls (魚丸)

Learn how to make this incredibly versatile fish ball recipe right at home!

flodesk gif
Prep Time
30 min
Total Time
60 min
Yields
4 servings
YouTube Tutorial

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

This fish ball recipe was originally part of our longer series on doing Hot Pot at Home, and I felt like it deserved its own blog post, so here we are.

If you're new to fish balls, this is an extremely popular type of recipe with a ton of different names and variations throughout Asia and parts of Europe.

The foundation of this recipe is essentially creating a great fish paste. From there, usually, you'll find these rolled up into balls, which you can deep fry and lather in sauce, or boil them in soups or hot pots. Instead of rolling them into balls, you can also flatten them into patties and pan-fry them, which my dad does quite often.

Most Asian grocery stores sell pre-made fishballs, but this is a great way to customize your own healthy version at home.

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Main Ingredients

  • 8 oz tilapia fish fillets
  • 2 oz shrimp (

    size 31-35

    )

Fish Ball Flavors (default for ~10 oz of fish/shrimp)

  • 4 piece cilantro
  • 4 piece green onion
  • ginger (

    3-4 thin slices, minced

    )
  • dried mandarin orange peel (

    rehydrated, use about 1 square inch

    )
  • 0.50 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Buying fish from sustainable sources

It’s important to at least be aware of how we can support sustainable methods and sources of fish.

While it might not always be feasible to shop in this way, as consumers, an easy way to do our part is by making sure we vote with our wallets.

Monterey Bay Aquarium in California runs a free website called “Seafood Watch” which has a ton of recommendations on how to choose and purchase seafood in ways that have the least environmental impact.

Finding Asian Ingredients

Some of these ingredients are hard to find in a typical grocery store.

If you don't live near an Asian market, most or all of what my dad uses in this recipe can be found on Amazon:

I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's other recipes.

These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!

Step 1: Cut, mince, flatten fish

We'll start by finely mincing our tilapia (2 oz). Beat it down with the blunt edge of our knife to flatten it. Repeat this 1-2 more times to tenderize the fish. We want this to be as tender and paste-like as possible.

The actual amount and type of fish are up to you! My dad just used tilapia because it was readily available at the time.

If you have a food processor, feel free to use it!

Step 2: Cut, mince, flatten shrimp

Just like our fish, we'll finely mince our shrimp (0.20 oz).

Beat it down with the blunt edge of our knife to flatten it. Repeat this 1-2 more times to tenderize the shrimp. We want this to be as tender and paste-like as possible.

As with the fish, the actual amount and type of shrimp are up to you! You can also just make this with shrimp, or skip the shrimp entirely.

Step 3: Mix fish & shrimp

With the blunt side of our knife, spatula, paddle, etc, we'll mix the tilapia and shrimp together, and flatten it. Make sure to do this thoroughly.

Step 4: Chop greens, ginger, orange peel

We'll finely chop some cilantro (4 piece), green onion (4 piece).

We'll also be mincing about 1 square inch of a rehydrated dried orange peel ( ), and 3-4 slices of ginger ( ).

Step 5: Create flavors

Mix salt (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), white pepper (0.50 tsp), chicken bouillon (1 tsp), egg (1 ), cornstarch (3 tbsp), and water (5 tbsp) in a bowl.

Step 6: Mix everything together, add oils

Add the fish paste and greens to the bowl, and mix thoroughly for 2-3 minutes.

Add sesame oil (1 tsp), olive oil (1 tsp), mix for another 30-60 seconds.

Step 7: Slam the fish paste

This is a traditional technique - we'll take clumps of fish paste and slam it down on the bowl.

This helps increase the pliability of the fish paste.

Step 8: Refrigerate & cook

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

When it comes time to eat, we have a bunch of options:

  • Hot pot style: Scoop up a ball of fish paste with a spoon, and then dunk it in the hot pot. It will be ready to eat in a little under a minute - soft, chewy, tender goodness and all.
  • Deep fry: Heat up a high smoke point oil (like corn oil) and deep fry the fish balls for ~1 minute at 175C, 350F. Dip in your favorite sauce
  • Sauté: Flatten the fish balls into little patties, and pan-fry each side for 2-3 minutes.

FAQ

What's the benefit of making homemade fish balls from scratch?

  • Of course, the main draw of making something from scratch is that you know exactly what's going into your dish. You can control the amount of seasonings and adjust different ingredients to your liking.
  • You also have better control over the freshness. The texture of homemade fish balls and homemade fish paste will be way better than a frozen package from the store. It's also healthy, since you know that there aren't any unfamiliar preservatives in it!

What's the best fish to use for fish paste?

  • We use tilapia, but you can use most white fish. Other popular fish to use for fish paste or fish balls include pollock and dace. You can also try making this with just shrimp!

Do I have to use dried orange peel?

  • As Daddy Lau always says, if you don't like it, reduce it or skip it! Here, it's helpful to have dried orange peel to complement the taste of the fish and reduce any possible fishiness. If you don't have it, or you don't like the taste of dried orange peel, you can skip it.

Why is there shrimp in the fish balls?

  • Not all fish balls or fish paste include shrimp. We like the taste, and it also contributes to the structure of the fish balls. You can also make this 100% shrimp with no fish!

Do I have to mince it into a paste by hand?

  • Nope! You can totally use a food processor for this. For blenders or grinders, you may want to consult the instruction manual for any tips and tricks on getting the result you want.

Can you use fish paste for other dishes?

  • Yes! There are lots of Cantonese dishes that use fish paste. We use it to make fish balls for hot pot, but you can also grill it, stir-fry it, and stuff other ingredients and pan-fry or fry them.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/homemade-fish-balls
Homemade Fish Balls (魚丸)
Learn how to make this incredibly versatile fish ball recipe right at home!
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 60 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 8 oz tilapia fish fillets
  • 2 oz shrimp (

    size 31-35

    )

Fish Ball Flavors (default for ~10 oz of fish/shrimp)

  • 4 piece cilantro
  • 4 piece green onion
  • ginger (

    3-4 thin slices, minced

    )
  • dried mandarin orange peel (

    rehydrated, use about 1 square inch

    )
  • 0.50 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Step 1 - Cut, mince, flatten fish

↑ Jump to details

Finely mince the tilapia (2 oz). Beat it down with the blunt edge of your knife to flatten it. Repeat this 1-2 more times to tenderize the fish.

Step 2 - Cut, mince, flatten shrimp

↑ Jump to details

Finely mince the shrimp (0.20 oz).

Beat it down with the blunt edge of your knife to flatten it. Repeat this 1-2 more times to tenderize the shrimp.

Step 3 - Mix fish & shrimp

↑ Jump to details

With the blunt side of your knife, spatula, paddle, etc, mix the tilapia and shrimp together, and flatten it. Make sure to do this thoroughly.

Step 4 - Chop greens, ginger, orange peel

↑ Jump to details

Finely chop cilantro (4 piece), green onion (4 piece).

Mince about 1 square inch of a rehydrated dried orange peel ( ), and 3-4 slices of ginger ( ).

Step 5 - Create flavors

↑ Jump to details

Mix salt (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), white pepper (0.50 tsp), chicken bouillon (1 tsp), egg (1 ), cornstarch (3 tbsp), and water (5 tbsp) in a bowl.

Step 6 - Mix everything together, add oils

↑ Jump to details

Add the fish paste and greens to the bowl, and mix thoroughly for 2-3 minutes.

Add sesame oil (1 tsp), olive oil (1 tsp), mix for another 30-60 seconds.

Step 7 - Slam the fish paste

↑ Jump to details

This is a traditional technique - take clumps of fish paste and slam it down on the bowl.

This helps increase the pliability of the fish paste.

Step 8 - Refrigerate & cook

↑ Jump to details

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

When it comes time to eat, you have a bunch of options:

  • Hot pot style: Scoop up a ball of fish paste with a spoon, and then dunk it in the hot pot. It will be ready to eat in a little under a minute - soft, chewy, tender goodness and all.
  • Deep fry: Heat up a high smoke point oil (like corn oil) and deep fry the fish balls for ~1 minute at 175C, 350F. Dip in your favorite sauce
  • Sauté: Flatten the fish balls into little patties, and pan-fry each side for 2-3 minutes.
Step 9 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 10 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

I have so many memories of eating this with my family.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this tradition with your loved ones.

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.