Small Fish and Meatball Soup
A traditional Zhejiang soup dish made by steaming zile fish until fully cooked, then simmering it with meatballs. It features fresh, savory broth, tender meat, and a light, pale color.
Ingredients
Pork collar (minced)
150 g
Small fish (washed and steamed)
100 g
Egg white (about 1, for binding the pork)
25 g
Salt (used in stages)
2 g
MSG (for seasoning)
2.5 g
Shaoxing wine (for marinating the fish)
5 g
Scallion (knots and segments)
2 g
Ginger slices (to remove odor and add aroma)
2.5 g
Instructions
1
Steam the small fish
Wash the small fish and place them in a bowl. Add the Shaoxing wine, scallion knots, and ginger slices, then steam until cooked through. Discard the scallion knots and ginger slices, and transfer the fish to a soup bowl.
2
Form the meatballs
Mince the pork, add 50 g water and 1 g salt, and stir vigorously until the mixture becomes sticky. Add the egg white and MSG and mix well. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat, squeeze the pork mixture into about 10 meatballs, and drop them in. When the outer skin of the meatballs sets, gently nudge them with a ladle. Once the water returns to a boil, add cold water and lower the heat to gently cook the meatballs through.
3
Combine the soup
Pour in the reserved steaming broth from the small fish. Once it comes to a boil, skim off the foam. Season with salt and MSG, scatter in scallion segments, and drizzle in lard. Pour everything into the soup bowl holding the small fish and serve.
