Authentic Vietnamese Cooking/Corinne Trang 1999

Fish Quenelles (Nem Ca)
Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Calories Saturated Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
24 each


INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
freshly ground white pepper 1 pound cod, skin and bones removed, cut into chunks 2 tablespoons potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder spicy lemongrass soy dipping sauce



1 Whisk together fish sauce and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and white pepper to taste.
2 Place the fish in a food processor and pulse to make a fine paste, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce mixture, potato starch, and baking powder and continue pulsing until the mixture has a firm, paste-like consistency, about 1 minute more.
3 Bring a pot filled with water to a boil over high heat. Pinch off about 1 teaspoon of the fish paste and form it into a ball. Repeat the process, dropping each ball into the boiling water to cook. Once the balls float to the surface, cook for 1 minute more and remove with a slotted spoon. Drain and cool completely. At this point you can use fish balls in hu tieu do bien, seafood noodle soup, or freeze them.
4 Heat the remaining vegetable oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the fish balls, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with spicy lemongrass soy sauce for dipping.

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