Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls (咖喱魚蛋)

When you walk down the streets of Hong Kong, you will find many different street foods! The one that stands out the most are Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls! You will see a large steel cart filled with curry and different types of meats (mostly fish balls). The lady (or man) at the cart scoops a big heaping of the sauce and fish balls in a large cup. They also give you some skewer sticks to eat the fish balls!

This dish is all about the sauce. I can’t say this is an authentic recipe, but it sure is delicious and reminds me of the one my dad makes. My secret ingredient is pear! It provides a nice sweetness and balances out the curry flavor 😉 The curries that we make in our Cantonese home is not too spicy and is on the sweeter side. Please keep in mind, this dish may differ from Indian or Thai curry flavors.

Don’t Throw Away The Sauce

After you’re done eating the fish balls, don’t throw away the sauce! Heat the sauce in a pot until boiling. If its really thick, you can add a little bit of water. You can add some potatoes, carrots and chicken for another quick curry meal. Or simply add more fish balls ◡̈

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR CURRY FISH BALLS:

Saute:

• onion, sliced
• garlic, chopped
• avocado oil (any neutral oil will work!)
• salt
• ketchup
• cooking wine (shaoxing cooking wine) or sake

Blend:

• Sauteed ingredients (onion mixture)
• pear
• water

Boil:

• water
• bay leaves
• star anise
• cinnamon bark
• blended mixture
• curry powder
• chicken bouillon
• salt
• black pepper
• fish balls
• butter
• chili oil
• sugar
• soy sauce
• heavy cream or coconut cream (optional)

STEPS TO MAKE THE CURRY FISH BALLS:

1. Slice 1 onion and chop 8 cloves of garlic. Heat large pan on medium-high. Next, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, sliced onions, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt. Saute for 4-5 minutes until onions have softened.
2. Next, add 1 tablespoon ketchup and stir. Then, add 1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low-medium heat until the liquid has evaporated. Be careful the onions can be burned easily because of the ketchup. Set aside and cool.
3. Peel the skin of the pear and cut in pieces. Put pear and onion mixture in a blender with 3 tablespoons water. Next, blend until smooth.
4. In a large pot on medium heat, add 4 cups water, 3 bay leaves, 3 star anise, half cinnamon bark and blended mixture. When the water starts boiling, add 1 tablespoon curry powder, ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Stir together. Cook sauce for 8-10 minutes. Then, skim the top of the bubbles and take out the bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon bark.
5. Afterwards, add 1 pack fish balls (optional: I like giving the fish balls a rinse after I open the package to get rid of any ice or unwanted fridge smell) to the curry sauce. Mix together and boil for 5 minutes. The fish balls will turn a light yellow color.
6. Next, add 1 tablespoon butter, ½ tablespoon chili oil (add more if you like more spicy), ½ tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Lastly, add heavy cream if you like the sauce to be creamier. I like to cook for an additional 5 minutes to have a thicker consistency! The longer you cook the fish balls on medium heat, the thicker the sauce will be. You can serve by itself, or skewered. I add ketchup on top (don’t judge it until you try it!) for extra sweetness. I got the ketchup idea on curry balls from a Guangzhou 7-11 store.

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More Hong Kong street food dishes? Check out some below!

• Cheung fun aka Rice Noodles – the noodles are dressed in a delicious hoisin, peanut, and xo sauce for the ultimate comfort food!
• Hong Kong French Toast – the classic peanut butter filled toast with condensed milk is the classic breakfast dish you see at Hong Kong cafes.
• Baked Pork Chop Rice – the perfectly marinated pork chop with tomato sauce. The rice is baked with the sauce and pork chop for a tasty (and cheesy!) bite!