Fish Ball Noodle Soup
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Fish ball noodles soup is a healthy, light-tasting and easy one-dish meal. Without having to make my own fish balls, this homely bowl of noodles soup can be whipped up in under 30 minutes, including the home-made ikan bilis broth.
See Also: Fish Ball Mee Pok Recipe
My family commented that it tastes similar to the hawker version (it means yummy!), which I think is due to the fried lard and lard oil I added as topping for the noodles. For a healthier or non-pork version, you can use garlic oil or shallot oil. You can make the ikan bilis stock in advance, or cook it on the day itself as the stock only needs about 10-15 minutes of simmering (prolonged simmering may result in bitter broth).
I personally prefer fish balls bought from the wet market or hawker stalls where they are packed in a bag of water. The wet market fish balls can’t keep for long, best used on the same day. To me, they taste fresher, don’t look abnormally big or taste artificially bouncy, as compared to the supermarket ones. The fish balls I used in this recipe are bought from Bedok North Blk 216 ‘flower’ market, Joo Chiat fish ball noodles stall. In addition to fish balls, you can also add fish cake slices and fish dumplings for more variety.
Fish Ball Noodle Soup Recipe
You can use your favourite noodles in this recipe. For bee hoon (rice vermicelli) (used in this recipe), soak in water for half hour until softened and blanch in boiling water for about a minute. For tang hoon (mung bean vermicelli), soak in water until softened and add it directly to the hot stock. For kway teow, yellow noodles and other fresh local noodles, blanch in boiling water for about a minute. For pasta noodles such as angel hair, cook according to package instructions.
Ingredients:
- 50 grams ikan bilis (anchovies/江鱼仔) rinsed twice
- 700 ml water
- 12-16 fish balls
- 2 servings noodles e.g. bee hoon, tang hoon, kway teow, yellow noodles, angel hair
- 3 leaves lettuce sliced thinly
- 1 tsp fried lard or fried shallots
- salt or light soy sauce to taste, if needed
- 1 tbsp chopped spring onions (scallions)
- chilli padi sliced thinly
Directions:
- To make ikan bilis stock, bring 700ml of water and ikan bilis to boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Discard ikan bilis (note: for convenience, use disposable soup pouches to contain the ikan bilis). Season to taste with salt or light soy sauce, if needed.
- With the ikan bilis stock simmering in the pot, add fish balls and cook until they float to the surface.
- In a separate pot of boiling water, blanch or cook noodles (see details above).
- Divide cooked noodles to serving bowls and ladle cooked fish balls and soup stock over. Garnish with lettuce, lard oil and chopped spring onions. Serve with a saucer of sliced chilli padi with light soy sauce at the side.
Noob Cook Tips
- You can add a handful of blanched bean sprouts, 1/2 tbsp “dong cai” (Chinese preserved vegetables/冬菜 – soaked and excess water squeezed), fish cake slices and fish dumplings for added taste.
- Adjust quantity of ikan bilis and water according to the saltiness of the ikan bilis you bought.