Cangxin Fish Balls

Name: Cangxin Fish Balls
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 750g white fish mince; 50g cooked winter bamboo shoot slices; 10g bamboo shoot mince; 100g boneless lean pork (minced); 10g wood ear; 10g Chinese chives (or Chinese chive sprouts); 50g peeled shrimp (not used in the original steps); 15g refined salt; 2g MSG; 6g Shaoxing cooking wine; 10g rendered lard; 5g wet starch (for thickening)

A traditional famous dish from Zhejiang province, made by wrapping minced white fish paste around pork meatballs, steaming the assembled parcels, then coating them with a glossy starch glaze. The finished dish has a crystal-clear white appearance and a soft, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

5 min

Medium

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Story

Passed down through generations of home cooks and professional chefs in Zhejiang, Cangxin Fish Balls holds a special place in the region's culinary culture, often gracing the tables of Lunar New Year feasts and wedding banquets as a symbol of prosperity and family unity, with its delicate, tender texture and subtle, well-balanced flavor making it a favorite among diners of all ages.

Ingredients

white fish mince 750g

cooked winter bamboo shoot slices 50g

bamboo shoot mince 10g

boneless lean pork (minced) 100g

wood ear 10g

Chinese chives (or Chinese chive sprouts) 10g

peeled shrimp (not used in the original steps) 50g

refined salt 15g

MSG 2g

Shaoxing cooking wine 6g

rendered lard 10g

wet starch (for thickening) 5g

Instructions

Prepare the meat filling

Mince the lean pork into fine pieces, place in a bowl, add minced bamboo shoots, Shaoxing wine, fine salt, and MSG, mix well, then squeeze into 20 round meat balls the size of longan.

Make the fish balls

Take an additional soup bowl, coat its inner surface with rendered lard, then scoop the fish paste into your hand, place one pork meat ball in the center of the fish paste, squeeze the mixture out from the gap between the thumb and index finger (the "tiger's mouth" position) to form stuffed fish balls, and arrange them on a soup plate.

Steam the fish balls

After completing the above steps, place the fish balls in a steamer and steam for 5 minutes, then remove them, drain off the original cooking liquid, and set aside.

Pour the thickened sauce

Place a wok over high heat, pour in the reserved original cooking liquid, add clear broth, wood ear mushrooms, sliced bamboo shoots, salt, and Shaoxing wine, bring to a boil, then add MSG, chive sprouts and other seasonings, use wet starch to make a thin slurry to thicken the sauce, drizzle with rendered lard, then pour the sauce over the fish balls to finish.