1. Ok, so fish varieties. Common fish that’re used for surimi are: Alaskan Pollock (IIRC the most common one, known for its gel-forming ability), Lizardfish, Cod, Blue Whiting, Jack Mackerel, Red Snapper, Tilapia, and Milkfish. As I said in the video, I believe any of those should also do the trick. I’m not the most versed in Japanese food, so someone in the know feel free to add/correct any of that list. I’m guessing Cod might be the most available abroad? 2. I was pounding my head against a wall for a while because… I’m really not sure why Mackerel actually works here. Like, take a look at [this table](i.imgur.com/4kiemAM.png) - for fishball, and fish pastes generally, you’re looking for a fish that’s high in myosin - the protein that helps everything gel together. And if you look at many of the high myosin fish, you generally get a who’s who of stuff to make fishballs with: Snapper, Squid, Shark, Mutsu, etc. But then little old Mackerel there? Low myosin, fatty… basically goes against my entire understanding of meat pastes. We tried some other species - bream, notably - that just didn’t come together well. So why does Mackerel work? I’m still unsure, if anyone can point me to the right direction here… 3. Important bit! Suppose you try working with, I dunno, Cod. You follow our recipe and it’s… just not coming together. You can still save your fishball! Toss an egg white or two in the mix - that’ll provide the missing myosin to get the job done. 4. It might surprise you to know that Hong Kong has different sorts of fishballs than much of the rest of the PRD. After all, isn’t Hong Kong like Cantonese central? I mean… yeah sure, basically. But the food of the city has a pretty palpable Chaoshan (Teochew) influence that you can see in the fishballs, the way brisket’s cut... etc etc. While I don’t think the food in HK is different enough from the rest of the PRD to be labeled its own ‘cuisine’ (especially because there’s ton of back and forth - HK-originating dishes that spread to the mainland and visa versa), I personally think of it as its own ‘style’ of Cantonese food if that makes any sense? 5. Cantonese food is totally one of those cuisines in China where the more you use your magnifying glass, the more granular things become. Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shunde, Zhongshan, Zhaoqing, Dongjiang, Macao, Taishan… all these places have their own local specialties. Sometimes we get questions whether we’ll ever “run out of dishes” for the channel. That risk is precisely zero: we could probably do one video a week for the rest of our lives doing *just the Pearl River Delta* and still die of old age having just barely scratched the surface. There’s… so much left to explore. 6. I’m not trying to do a Chef John impression with the narration, promise. It’s just that sometimes with a longer video I end up a bit overly rhythmic, and there was an odd point here or there that I over emphasized. So yeah, I’ll try to tone it down next week. Quick reminder that for some reason, KZread’s stopped giving my notifications for comments - in order to see all the new comments, I need to go through our analytics page (something I try to avoid… seeing realtime up-to-date view counts ain’t good for the mental health). We still get back to some comments but you want to ask us a question or something, include “@ChineseCookingDemystified” in your comment - then I’ll see it. Or obviously feel free to hit me up on Reddit.

@francescogiacomopelagatti8221

4 жыл бұрын

@ChineseCookingDemystified I'm just trying to reply why mackerel works here. I think it s because of the relatively high fat content in the meat. The fact is that mackerel s fat is "entwined" inside the meat, so that when you mix that meat with your mixer by adding water you create an emulsion. The fat content being on the inside and not enough to make the mixture liquid helps creating the amalgam while the protein in the fish stabilizes the emultion. Also when cooking the fish balls will not lose their shape for the same reason, the fat being "entwined" in the meat, so that when melting it does not affect the final product. It s not like 饺子，where you include lard to moisten the meat and bring flavor, but at the least step, cause here the fat is already inside the meat. Also notice that salmon has less fat content that mackerel and almost the same protein value, but making fish balls with salmon should result in a paste not sticking together because the way the fat is distributed into the meat.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

I like the idea, but it's just really tough to square with the fact that lizardfish and big eye snapper are both quite lean - and also work (and if not actually preferred) with fishball. I'd need to do more tests using more fish breeds - perhaps there was some other variable to the bream sucking so hard for this. For making the fish paste for the Cantonese stuffed chilis, basically a lot of meat worked well - from the classic mud carp, to sea bass, to tilapia. Another possible variable is freshness. Fresher fish = better fishball. And yet, some of our Mackerel was flirting with sub-par and it still worked.... must be something else going on...

@francescogiacomopelagatti8221

4 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified they work better cause they are lean, thus have higher protein percentage and are able to develop more myacin while mixing. Mackerel works fine for the combination of fat, lean and water. I think freshness of fish also affects the process, the older, the worse, proteins degenerating as time goes. I used to work in a restaurant few years ago and chef told me the water content in the meat is also essential in this kind of process. The "drier" the better, meaning that a high water content takes to a very loosen paste after mixing.

@natviolen4021

4 жыл бұрын

This is defnitely a challenge for an unexperienced cook. If the proteins won't bond, you'll end up with fish porridge while poaching. In my country fish balls were very popular (great in tomato soup) but are a bit out of date nowadays. Every fish from the cod family is used, once in a while a mixture of cod and salmon. The filets are cubed and slightly frozen before added to a food processor and blended with spices, ice-cold heavy cream and possibly an egg yolk. I'm not sure why the heavy cream supports the protein bonding, but maybe this is also why the mackerel works. Anyway,, using a food processor (or a blender for very small quantities) is key because it does the job quickly and keeps the temperature low. If a coarser texture is desired, reserve some of the filets, mince them and add them to the mixture later. It made me wonder how fish balls were made before the invention of modern electrical appliances.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

@Nat Violen Here, people use(d) chopsticks - because you're not using hands, you don't get the same issue with body heat. If you go back far enough I think certain styles of fishballs were seasonal? Don't hold me to that though. Out of curiousity, where're you from? Those fishballs seem interesting as hell.

When I was little I watched my family make these. We didn't have machines, so they just mince the fish the old fashioned way, cleaver in each hand, the cadence of cleavers hitting the cutting board reverberates through the house. As kids we ran to the kitchen and get the hot just out of the pot fish balls. So springy and fresh.

I made fish curry last night. My hubby gave me a thumb up. Thank you for the recipe !

Thanks for posting this. I'll definitely be trying these the proper way as shown. As a token of gratitude I offer you my lazy 15-minute version in exchange. It's sensitive to the type of fish used - I find frozen basa (from the frozen section at Aldi) works great. Numbers behind the ingredients are weight in grams- - 2 basa fillets, frozen, partially defrosted by just covering in hot water (188) * - 2 egg whites, large (68) - 1 tbsp corn flour (20) - 1 tsp salt (6) - 1 tsp vetsin (6) - 1 tsp sugar (5) - 1 tsp white pepper Blend into a smooth paster, shape into balls (do the squeeze+spoon thing) and place in near-boiling water (the egg white should keep the fish balls together). Foam will form around the time the fish balls go springy. Microwave for a minute to lose excess moisture and leave to cool until reaching approx. 65-70C. Put in a freezer bag and run cold water over it, then freeze.

In indonesia, there's almost exactly the same dish called bakso/baso but instead of using fish, it uses beef instead and the presentation is exactly the same as the fish soup including the proses on creating the fishball....... i've heard that it's originated from china and brought here by the chinese but this is the first time i saw the chinese version.... keep up the good work!

@ronfirek5824

3 жыл бұрын

Nice to know. Blessings

Thank you for covering a Chaozhou dish! I'd love to see more of those ;)

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers, I also really wanna do Guorou. And when we ever get around to doing mooncake, we definitely want to do some Chaozhou-style Laobing

The way of commentating her movements reminds me of some cozy old times' TV shows. It's so very enjoyable to watch and watch and rewatch and rewatch again and again. Very sweet. Also great fishballs

Thank you for sharing this with us! I've only had fishballs fried, so I'm looking forward to make the other ways of eating them!

Nice video as always, that soup probably is great at the last minute

Such a great resource! Having access to this information is just terrific!

Well......I just finished and thank you for the great instructions.

wonderful recipe!

So excited to try making curry fishballs! Was wondering if you guys might cover HK cafe style satay beef noodles? I often crave them, but find not many do a good job .... So I would like to learn how to do it at home! Thanks for all your amazing videos!

Yes!! Where I live are impossible to get. Thank you!

NO! You changed your outtro music! I loved that music!

You guys doin the lords work

We have Fu Zhou fishballs in Singapore, which are fishballs stuffed with minced beef. It's pretty decadent.

This is all really interesting, I want to see if I can make my own version even though I'm in a pandemic during lockdown

THANK YOU FOR THIS i love fishballs so much. will you guys ever make the various fishball soup noodle dishes like yudan hoh fen?

Missed you guys!

Love you two. Put your mixer in the freezer. That's what I do with my grinder for making sausage.

I literally just made fish ball and tofu curry. Didn't make the fish balls though because I'm lazy and poor! Great video!

according to fish monger insiders in hong kong they also use sea eels, they are basically left overs for those big fried fish skins .

I like the dog's response in the last few seconds of the video.

Good video! Lots of fish ball recipes out there.

@ronfirek5824

3 жыл бұрын

Trying to find recipe of steamed fish balls made with fish and water chestnuts. If you see please list recipe here. Blessings

Don't often comment but that looks wonderful

Wow, I didn't know making MFS fish balls is easy to make. Thanks for sharing!

Also, you could put the stand mixer bowl in the fridge/freezer before mixing it.

Hey, as always, great video! Quick question though, how do you make stuffed fish balls (say, with fish roes)? Should I use the same technique as making baozi?

Thank you so much, you two are the best!

Your fridge is so organized!

Romain Lettuce in a soup?! Never occurred to me it could work! I have a bunch of leftover from salad lying around right now; have to try it then, I guess.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah just make sure you add it in and like immediately turn off the heat. Still best when there's still a touch of crunch.

first time seeing the mixer setup 👍👍👍👍👍🙏🙏🤓🤓

Love the content and recipes! Does anyone know if halibut would work for this?

good one

Liking this channel. An episode showing steamed eggs with minced pork would be appreciated.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Oh right, we DO need a steamed eggs 101 video, thanks for reminding us!

Your refrigerator is so organized!

Very interesting video. Here in the Bay Area, they sell dace fish paste, which my wife uses to make tod mun pla. I think I may try it to make these fish balls.. it would be nice to compare to the frozen ones. I have one more question about your salt. You often call for a teaspoon, half teaspoon, etc. What kind of salt do you all use... Because for example 1/2 teaspoon of table salt contains about as much salt as a whole teaspoon of kosher salt.. The kosher salt grains are bigger and take up more room. But I know too that salt varies from country to country. So would you say the salt you use is more akin to table salt.. or bigger flakes?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

The standard salt in China is table salt - though I do miss using Kosher salt, it's great for Western food.

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

We use the most common table salt~ very small and fine grains.

looks delich

looks excruciatingly palatable

I want to try your method for one good reason ..(well..I love to try new techniques) the reason? I have always felt dubious about what went into commercial fish balls.

wow you guys are really old school. like how my granny made it. since you are using mackerel and made curry, i was wondering if you would like to make another spicy minced fish product... otak otak... the thick malacca variety... just suggesting.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Love Otak-Otak! We generally stay away from Straits Chinese stuff for the channel (figure that Malaysians and Singaporeans would be better equipped than us there), but if you've got a recipe, we love cooking that kind of stuff for ourselves :)

Fishballs are nice, but I'm all about them beef ball skewers, especially in curry... and maybe some tripe as well.

How's the stand mixer? I'm doubting to get it because I don't see much reviews

For a sometimes lazy chef . . .Can come one please recommend a quality brand of frozen fishballs? I have access to all of San Francisco's Asian markets.

The best

Love your videos! Im wondering what kind of cleaver are you using, is it a large company? Can I order one abroad?

@lisacastano1064

2 жыл бұрын

Find a Chinese market and get one that fits your hand and has a decent balance. Some of them have smaller handles than are comfortable and use a brick to sharpen it.

Love your videos! Im wondering what kind of cleaver are you using, is it a large company? Can I order one in the US?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

The brand of knife we use is Shi Ba Zi Zuo... they're not the best knives (Shun is better), but they're a solid 'mid range' knife, $30-40 range. www.amazon.com/stores/page/7F4816BE-4E08-4151-914A-EAD2D96258ED Pick up the 9" chef's knife from that page, see if you like using that kind of Chinese chef's knife/vegetable cleaver. If you enjoy it, then you can invest in something fancier down the road

Like to do this with ladyfish or big gar fish! Mississippi gulf coast here!

Where do i find or make the hong kong style curry pste

I think I just found the food that's going to get me through college!

I'm so going to permanently stay with store-bought after seeing this. My wrist ache is returning just watching this ... Warning people not to do it is as much a help/service as teaching people how to do it :-)

Ha! Joke's on you! Modern fishballs in Mong Kok contain no actual fish!

@ronfirek5824

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for heads up....what do they use in place of fish?

oh my god these look so good but i've never eaten them before so i have no idea

@davidk7439

4 жыл бұрын

real talk fishballs are really, really good. Even in the frozen varieties, they're great to add to soup and fry up, and in all cases, they never taste any degree of "fishy".

thank you please make budha vegetable delight

Dog and cat butt on the fridge makes my day!

我就有红酒或者白酒，多可以用吗？

anyone else have trouble getting it to thicken up? should I just add more starch?

your fridge is SO neat

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, I'm kinda OCD in organizing things. Our whole kitchen is like that, everything's labeled and categorized, lol.

Hello

I wondere, why is there always (so much) sugar in the salty dishes? And does it taste sweet at all? I imagine it tasting more sweet than salty sometimes.

I'm curious, how does this compare with ready made fish balls from the store? Is this process actually worth it, or do most people just buy it ready made?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

The advantage with homemade is that its more economical to pack more fish in - store bought ones use quite a bit of starch/water/additives. Homemade fishballs are certainly a project - I'd say they're 'better' but still in the same category of thing. Up to you!

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

Store-bought fish balls are often more al-dente because they usually have some additives to help create more springiness. Homemade ones are basically pure fish and you can control the variables in it. But here in China, people just buy it ready-made, either from markets, supermarkets, or small family workshops that do you know they do a good job. For example, I buy our beef balls from a friend's family workshop in the Teochew area, and they're indeed much better and juicier from store-bought ones, but we also buy factory-produced stuff from the market. So, to answer your question, I guess it'll worth it, depends on how strict you're with your fish balls?

@AbsulouteZero

4 жыл бұрын

Gotcha, thanks for the response. Love y'all's videos!

Top tip- if measuring ice 1ml weighs 1gram

Can you use catfish

peanut butter.. in the fridge..? 😟

homemade fish balls are the best.. you'd be afraid of the supermarket ones once you find out how many other "aritifical" ingredients they put in there

So , is freshwater northern pike out.?.... I have this fish in my back yard

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

I... don't know. You could for sure try but keep the egg whites handy just in case it doesn't come together.

@madinahagberg4942

4 жыл бұрын

Chinese Cooking Demystified thanks

@bodyno3158

4 жыл бұрын

Freshwater fishballs tends to get a soft texture, still a delicacy though, in Wuhan what we get are often freshwater fishballs. Pike would work pretty well I guess, it's a carnivorous fish, carnivorous fish always taste better in my opinion. Don't worry about the bones, just mince the fish super fine till all small bones being pounded into a oblivion.

@ChineseCookingDemystified can this be done without a stand mixer tho?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

For sure, it's definitely a workout though. Just go at it with chopsticks like we usually do. Maybe add a touch of pork or egg white to make your life easier.

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, I tested with hand mixing and it worked too. Just keep stirring it with a pair of chopsticks for at least 30-40 minutes if you're using mackerel, other fish may be able to achieve the stickiness level sooner. (Using chopsticks can prevent your body from warming up the fish paste) But yeah, it's a pain for mackerel because it's so fatty. And this is also the reason why totally handmade fishballs are rarely seen these days.

@mariosebastian2131

4 жыл бұрын

Still Steph thank youu

Are fuzhou fishballs at all on your list of to-dos?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Nothing on the horizon :/ Even though it's close to the estuary, getting ocean fish here in Shunde is actually kinda expensive/annoying. We spent a fortune testing this fishball recipe - maybe sometime if we move closer to the sea (or are feeling a bit more flush haha).

Is that peanut butter in the door of your fridge? If yes, is that a personal preference thing? Have I been doing it all wrong?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Ew you've been leaving your peanut butter out? How have you not died of botulism yet? [/s] Nah but seriously we have limited cabinet space in our apartment, but have two fridges. So our fridges are often also used for storage :)

30 minutes? I remember making them and just mixing by hand like 7 or 10 minutes while getting the same result

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah I know. With Lingyu (mudcarp) and Nageyu (lizardfish) it really takes no time at all. Mackerel's a pain, for sure.

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

It depends on the fish? What fish do you use? For mackerel, it's so fatty that the long stirring time is needed for the meat to emulsify and combine. I've tested the texture along the way of stirring at different time marks, and it only starts to be actually sticking after at least 25-30 minutes of stirring. And it does already look like a paste after 6-7 minutes of stirring, but the texture is not there yet.

@Bojoschannel

4 жыл бұрын

I did use mackerel, but now that i think about it, it must have been because it was previously frozen as opposed to the fresh one you used. But the rest was fine, it was really sticky too, spongy and all.

I see Kirin in the fridge. The superior brand of generic Japanese beer, by far.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Oh for sure. We moved into a place with a 7/11 downstairs and they've had a deal where it's two big cans of Kirin for 15 yuan (so like a touch over 1 usd per)... been using the hell out of that special haha.

30 minutes in the mixer?? Holy Cow!

@TheLeolee89

4 жыл бұрын

Imagine doing that with hand. Gonna get the arms of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

*Amazing* video about a food I absolutely dislike. (I can never make it where the "fishy" flavour isn't strong unless it's cod, but then I'm making fish & chips.) Side note ... 7:47 *PUPPERS!!!*

@bodyno3158

4 жыл бұрын

Ginger and scallion infused water plus some brandy would do the job, and get the fish as fresh as you can, the one still jumping on your cutboard is the best. If you decided to do the butchering job, make sure you drain the blood out.

Don't be fooled, these Hong Kong fishball's ain't as advertised ;). It's no coincidence there's a lot of high pitched Tenors around in Hong Kong,....enjoy XD. Nah, just kidding. Looked great, thumb's 👍-up yo.

Popular in Iceland, They use Cod.

you cook the frozen fish balls for only one minute?

@tpn1110

4 жыл бұрын

they’re already poached and cooked before being frozen so yes just one minute to reheat them

How about something unusual for many? Chinese Fried Pigeon (Zha Ge Zi, 炸鸽子) or Chinese Fried Squab (Zha Ru Ge, 炸乳鸽)

So fucking great

For saltwater fishballs, use shark. For freshwater fishballs, use gar

Next video: Fishballs with meat filling!

@TheLeolee89

4 жыл бұрын

Foochow fishball?

@killham1337

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheLeolee89 Probably, Foochow must be Fuzhou. I live In another part of Fujian and here they are the standard fishballs. I've heard Fuzhou is famous for them so it seems likely they originated there

@TheLeolee89

4 жыл бұрын

​@@killham1337 Yes, Foochow and Fuzhou is the same thing, just different spelling or in different languages/dialects. Yes, it is famous in Fuzhou and among overseas Fuzhounese.

@gingerspixie

4 жыл бұрын

William Emanuelsson yas 👏🏻 waiting for that

Weird you say 鱼蛋, only heard them called 鱼丸 or 鱼丸子

Who drew the cat butts on the fridge?

@thisissteph9834

4 жыл бұрын

It's always me~

Fish balls... meat balls...chicken balls....sheep balls ...volley balls....bouncy balls...hairy balls....

huge jar of peanut butter in that fridge... i see u

How long have you had a dog?!

@ChineseCookingDemystified

4 жыл бұрын

Haha about a year and a half now

that's a big peanut butter jar

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜👍👍👍👍👍👍

I'm early!

Disappointed. No longyao

@mcgovemj

4 жыл бұрын

I think you're more likely to be disappointed with a soup recipe...🙂

Thats kind a stupid put salt and stuff inside before and then put it in freezer

Dude. The fat is the healthy part.