Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 街邊咖哩魚蛋 is very symbolic of Hong Kong famous street food. I don’t know how most people in Hong Kong stay so slim when there’s literally food everywhere! Of course, curry fish ball stands are a common sight. The taste of the curry sauce is different from the curry that you’d find at a restaurant. It’s spicier and darker than the curry in curry chicken, for example. I add a secret ingredient to my curry sauce to kick it up a notch! I find it really enhances the curry flavour and gives the sauce extra stickiness so that the sauce adheres to the fish balls. I’ll tell you the secret ingredient at the end of this post!
Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 街邊咖哩魚蛋 emerged on the streets of Hong Kong in the 1950’s. They were sold by unlicensed vendors in mobile wooden carts. To keep prices down, the vendors bought cheap fish balls that were made of the cheapest fish and mixed it with starches to keep costs down. Sometimes the fish weren’t fresh and curry was a really good way to mask the fishy smell. It actually worked really well because the starch gave the fish an elastic texture that people loved. And the spicier the better!
In recent years, most fish ball stands have actual store fronts and small kitchens so the food sources are fresh and sanitary. But the flavours are still the same. Now that the vendors have cooking space, they’re able to add a medley of foods to the curry sauce. Besides fish balls, you can get white radish, wieners, beef omasum, beef tripe and squid, just to name a few.
In my Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 街邊咖哩魚蛋 recipe, I’ll show you what I add to my medley and I’ll show you how to make a delicious curry sauce that you’d want to dip everything in! As promised, I’ll let you in on my secret ingredient….peanut butter, shhhhhhh!
Looking for more Hong Kong style recipes? Check out my Hong Kong Cafe recipe section. I highly recommend the Hong Kong Style Borscht with Oxtail 牛尾羅宋湯, it's one of my favourite soups!
Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 街邊咖哩魚蛋
Ingredients
- 500 g Deep-fried fish balls
- 200 g Beef omasum
- 250 g Baby octopus
- 200 g Wieners (regular size are fine too)
- 200 g Fish siu mai
- 200 g Chicken hearts
- 350 g White radish
- 50 g Wheat gluten balls
- 6 Large shallots chopped or sliced
- 3 slices Ginger
- 8 cloves Garlic , chopped (approx. 3 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 500 ml Broth
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Water
- 4 tbsp Curry paste
- 4 tbsp Smooth peanut butter
- 2 tbsp Chinese barbeque sauce (Sha cha sauce)
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Chu Hou sauce
- 1 tbsp Spicy bean paste (dou ban sauce)
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 25 g Rock sugar
Instructions
- Peel white radish and make quarter turn cuts
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add 25 g rock sugar and white radish. Wait for it to boil and turn down heat to medium. Cook for approx. 20-30 minutes until soft then drain and set aside
This will infuse some sweetness into the white radish and remove some of the bitterness, if any - Clean baby octopus. Remove beak and cut a slit in the head to remove all the organs if not already done. Set aside
- Bring another pot of water to a boil, add chicken hearts, baby octopus and the beef omasum. Cook beef omasum for 2-3 minutes until cooked, submerse in cold water, cut into smaller pieces and set aside. Cook chicken hearts and baby octopus for approx. 4 minutes until cooked, drain and set aside.
I boiled them separately but boiling them together is fine too - Bring a big pot of water to a boil. All the following ingredients need to be boiled for a few minutes to wash off some of the oil that is on the foods. When water boils, add fish balls, wieners, fish siu mai and wheat gluten balls. When water boils again, remove everything except for the wheat gluten balls, they’ll need an additional 5 minutes to soften the inside. Deflate them and set aside
- In a bowl, combine 4 tbsp curry paste, 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 2 tbsp Chinese barbeque sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Chu Hou sauce, ½ tsp turmeric powder and 1 tbsp spicy bean paste and set aside
- Prepare a few slices of ginger, chop garlic and shallots
If you like ginger, you can also mince it and mix it in with the sauce. I usually keep them in slices so that I can easily fish them out - In a wok, pot or large pan, on medium high heat, add 2 tbsp oil and add sliced ginger. Stir-fry until lightly toasted
- Add chopped shallots and garlic. Stir-fry until aromatic
- Make room in the centre of the pan or push everything to one side. Add sauce mixture. And let it cook for one minute while mixing the sauce together
- Then mix together with shallots and garlic
- Add 2 cups broth, bring to a boil and turn the heat to low
- Combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Mix and slowly pour into the curry sauce. Mix well until thickened
- Taste the sauce. Add some dark soy sauce to adjust the colour of the sauce. Add light soy sauce and sugar to adjust the taste.
I added 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce and 2 tsp sugar to mine - Turn heat to medium-high and add everything that’s set aside except the fish siu mai (the skin will fall off if you simmer it in the curry sauce so just add those when you’re ready to serve).
I usually keep the same kinds together so that they can be easily found. Mix them within their own groups What goes in will be the deep-fried fish balls, wieners, baby octopus, beef omasum, white radish, chicken hearts and wheat gluten - When sauce starts to simmer, turn heat to low, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes
- Add fish siu mai
- Serve
Christine
Looks amazing! Would love to try, do you mind sharing which curry paste you used?
Auntie Emily
Hi Christine, thanks so much! I use a curry paste I got from Choi Hop Lee Condiments & Asiatic Products (財合利),G/F, 4 Bowrington Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong +852 2572 2982. They said that they can do mail orders the last time I talked to them. Their curry mix is my absolute favorite. I have both the powder and the sauce. If you can't get this one, you can try the Yeo's Singapore Curry Sauce and add some pureed dried shrimp. I plan to try making my own curry powder and paste. I'll share the recipe when I figure it out, but that might still take some time! Hope this helps. Happy cooking!