Soy sauce, chopped garlic, and siling labuyo chili peppers combine to make an easy fishball sauce. Today, learn how to prepare this sweet and spicy Filipino sauce from scratch.
Filipino street food ranks high among international cuisines, and this simple fishball sauce illustrates why. Deep-fried snacks, like other East Asian street cuisine, are especially popular, with street sellers setting up their booths with pans and hot oil to swiftly cook to order.
Fishballs are one of the region’s most distinctive meals, served in a wonderfully rich sweet-but-spicy sauce great for dipping. The crispness of the battered fishballs complements the sauce’s combination of soy sauce, chili peppers, and smashed garlic.
You can create your own fishball sauce at home, which is great news. This quick dipping sauce recipe is a terrific addition to any home cook’s arsenal since it uses just a few common ingredients and takes only 10 minutes to reduce.
Contents
- What is Fishball Sauce?
- What is Fishball Sauce Used for?
- Storage
- How to Thicken Fishball Sauce
- Quick Tips
- Fishball Sauce
- FAQs
- What is fishball sauce made of?
- How do you make fishball sauce?
- What is fish balls served with?
- Are Chinese fish balls healthy?
- What flavor is fish ball?
- What is the white stuff in fish sauce?
- What are the ingredients of fish ball street food?
- What fish is fish sauce made from?
- What is fishball in English?
- What’s the difference between fish sauce and Thai fish sauce?
What is Fishball Sauce?
Fishball sauce is a rich, thick sauce seasoned with garlic, shallot, chilis, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Some sellers make it spicy by adding more chilis, while others prefer a sweeter dish with a greater brown sugar ratio.
It’s the ideal complement to scorching hot golden fishballs or any other fried street food. Because of its thickness and high sugar content, it adheres to the batter, guaranteeing that you receive lots of spice in every mouthful.
What is Fishball Sauce Used for?
Fishball sauce is the traditional sauce for dipping fishballs, which are deep-fried dough balls filled with spices and ground-up fish. These crispy appetizers are often sold on skewers, making it simple to fill up on sauce without getting your fingers sticky.
Despite its name, the sweet and spicy combination complements kwek-kwek (battered and fried quail eggs), calamares (fried squid rings), and chicken balls.
Storage
Once the fishball sauce has completely cooled, put it in the refrigerator. To seal in the taste and keep it fresh, use an airtight container.
Because they create a tight seal, many home chefs keep fishball sauce in repurposed jam jars or mason jars.
Fishball sauce may be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week if well wrapped. If you want to warm up your sauce, heat just the quantity you want to consume rather than the full container.
You may also prepare bigger amounts and freeze them in zip-sealed bags in the freezer. It will last up to three months in the freezer.
Allowing fishball sauce to come to room temperature in the refrigerator is the safest method to defrost it, which should take between 24-48 hours depending on the size of the bag.
If you need a quicker solution, throw the sauce bag in a bowl and set it in the sink. Run cold water over the bag to thaw the sauce.
How to Thicken Fishball Sauce
Fishball sauce contains both cornstarch and flour as thickeners, but there are a handful of strategies you can employ to make your sauce even thicker.
Reduction
The first way involves cooking your fishball sauce for a longer period of time. As more water evaporates from the heat, the cornstarch-to-liquid ratio rises, resulting in a thicker sauce. Just keep an eye on your pot to prevent the sauce from scorching on the bottom.
Fishball sauce will also thicken as it cools if youre willing to wait a few minutes before dipping your fried delicacies. Simply leave it aside until it is room temperature before serving.
Cornstarch
You may also begin with a greater concentration of cornstarch in your slurry. You must be cautious about how much you add, since too much might turn your sauce gel-like and unpleasant to consume.
Finding the correct ratio with this approach will need some experimenting, since you won’t know how thick your sauce is until it’s cooked.
It may be tempting to add extra cornstarch while cooking rather than beginning with a slurry, but this is not advised. You’re more prone to get lumps in your sauce.
Quick Tips
- Siling labuyo may be difficult to come by, so if you don’t have any on hand, just substitute Thai chilies. Thai chili peppers have a similar flavor and look.
- Do you need to thin down your fishball sauce? Add one tablespoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Fishball Sauce
Ingredients
- 2cupswater
- 4tbspsoy sauce
- cuplight brown sugar
- 1tbspflour
- 1tbspcornstarch
- 2shallotschopped
- 3clovesgarlicminced
- 2siling labuyostemmed and thinly sliced
- 1tspsalt
- tsppepper
Instructions
- In a small dish, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water until thoroughly dissolved. The slurry should be very smooth. Otherwise, you risk having cornstarch lumps in your sauce. Place aside.
- In a saucepan, combine the remaining water, flour, brown sugar, soy sauce, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Occasionally whisk until the brown sugar is entirely dissolved.
- Pour in the cornstarch slurry while whisking. Reduce the heat to medium and stir for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the shallots, garlic, and chilis to the pot after it has thickened. Simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and serve right away.
Notes
- If you can’t locate siling labuyo, use Thai chilies instead.
FAQs
What is fishball sauce made of?
Cornstarch, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, onion, and garlic make up the fishball sauce. On low heat, the mixture is cooked until the sauce thickens. This thickened sauce complements the deep-fried fish balls well. This homemade fishball sauce brings out the taste of the fishballs.
How do you make fishball sauce?
In a saucepan, combine Combine water, flour, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar has melted and there are no more flour lumps. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
What is fish balls served with?
Alternatively, cauliflower or broccoli in a white sauce. The sauce is often produced with the container’s stock, sometimes with mild Madras curry flavor as a condiment, or blended to make curry sauce.They are often served with potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables.
Are Chinese fish balls healthy?
Fish balls are high in protein, which is necessary for the body’s tissue growth and repair. Fish is a high-quality protein that includes all of the key amino acids your body needs for healthy operation.
What flavor is fish ball?
Fishballs are little shiny rounds of bouncing delight with a mild flavor that makes them a great addition in a variety of meals throughout East and South East Asia. They may be found in soups, noodles, sambals, and fried rice.
What is the white stuff in fish sauce?
Mold or yeast may form on the interior surface or lip of the bottle when there is extra moisture and less salt on rare instances. These growths are normally harmless, but as with any meal, if it looks, smells, or tastes unusual, it should be discarded.
What are the ingredients of fish ball street food?
Ingredients
500 g filleted fish (cream dory, mackarel, tilapia).
1 medium onion, chopped.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
3 tbsp cornstarch.
2 tsp salt.
1 tbsp sugar.
¼ cup water.
2 cups cooking oil (for frying).
What fish is fish sauce made from?
Small fish, such as anchovies, are salted and stored in big barrels. Natural microorganisms begin to degrade the fish, resulting in a saline, fishy, tasty beverage. That is fish sauce, my friends.
What is fishball in English?
A fish ball is similar to a chicken nugget in that it is made out of mashed up, balled up bits of fish that are either fried or boiled in soup./f bl
What’s the difference between fish sauce and Thai fish sauce?
Vietnamese fish sauce is often milder in flavor than Thai fish sauce, with the best sauce being translucent and softly amber in color, with a delicate aroma. Fish sauce, like olive oil, is rated in terms of quality and price.