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curry fish balls hong kong style
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5 from 2 votes

Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls

Fish balls cooked in a hong kong style curry sauce for a savory and flavorful bite.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 216kcal
Author: Dana

Ingredients

saute:

  • 1 onion sliced
  • 8 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil any neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon cooking wine shaoxing cooking wine or sake

blend:

  • sauteed ingredients (onion mixture)
  • 1 pear
  • 3 tablespoon water

boil:

  • 4 cups water
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 star anise
  • half cinnamon bark
  • blended onion mixture
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pack fish balls
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ tablespoon chili oil
  • ½ tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon heavy cream or coconut cream optional

Instructions

Saute:

  • 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.
    8 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, 1 teaspoon salt
  • 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.
    1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 tablespoon cooking wine

Blend:

  • Peel the skin of the pear and cut in pieces. Put pear and onion mixture in a blender with 3 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth.
    sauteed ingredients, 1 pear, 3 tablespoon water

Boil:

  • 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.
    4 cups water, 3 bay leaves, 3 star anise, half cinnamon bark, blended onion mixture, 1 tablespoon curry powder, ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • Then, 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.
    1 pack fish balls
  • 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.
    1 tablespoon butter, ½ tablespoon chili oil, ½ tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon heavy cream or coconut cream

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 1522mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 252IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg