Fish balls are said to have originated from Qin Shihuang's love of fish, but there should be no fishbones, for fear that the chef would harm him; You can remove all the fishbones, chop the fish too much, and say, "Chop the corpse into ten thousand pieces", which is also a kind of "killing trick". The anxious chef is at a loss and slaps the fish angrily on the board with the back of his knife until the fish turns into pulp. When the instructions came, he simply rubbed the fish paste and cooked it. Unexpectedly, the first emperor liked it very much.
? The fish ball in Fuzhou is a kind of stuffing ball with fish as skin and pork as stuffing. Originated in the early Qing Dynasty, it has a history of more than 300 years. It is a granular food made of chopped eel, shark or freshwater fish, mixed with sweet potato powder (starch) and wrapped with lean pork or shrimp. It is one of the local snacks with local characteristics in Fuzhou.
The original name of fish ball is Qixing fish ball, because it floats on the soup, just like the swaying stars in space. Add some chopped green onion to decorate it, and it will be as clear as jade.
There is a legend in Fuzhou: In ancient times, there was a fisherman by the Minjiang River. One day, a businessman went to the south by boat to do business. The ship left the mouth of the Minjiang River and entered the sea. It was hit by a typhoon. When the ship entered the harbor to take shelter from the wind, it was unfortunately damaged on the rocks. The repair of the ship was delayed and the food was bad. Every day, fish is used as food. The businessman sighed, "There are fish every day, and the food is boring. Can you change your taste? " The boatwoman said, "The food on the boat is broken, only a bag of potato powder." The ingenious female boatman peeled and pricked a big eel she had just caught, then chopped the fish, coated it with potato powder, made meatballs, cooked them and tasted them. Later, after returning to Fuzhou, the businessman opened a "Seven-Star Snack Bar" in the urban area, and hired a boat lady as a chef to specialize in "fish ball soup". At first, business was not good. One day, a son who went to Beijing to take an exam passed by this store for dinner. The shopkeeper warmly entertained and took out fish balls. After lifting the food, I thought it was delicious, so I wrote a poem: "Little stars are scattered and sparse, jade is sweet and fragrant." Although there is a thousand-year-old wine fragrance in southern Xinjiang, it is rare for the seven stars to be poetic and picturesque. "The shopkeeper hung this poem on the floor of the shop and all the guests came to taste it. Since then, business has become more and more prosperous and this store has become more and more popular. " Seven-star fish balls "also got its name.
The first time I saw fish balls, I was a fish ball vendor in my grandmother's alley when I was a child. They beat small bowls with spoons to attract customers. After riding a bicycle, it developed into two silver-white iron boxes. What remains unchanged is that the spoon in the vendor's hand is shaking up and down in the small bowl, making a crisp sound-"empty and long." As soon as I heard this voice when I was a child, I knew that the fish ball seller was coming, so I always pestered my grandmother to buy a bowl of hot fish balls.
When my mother talks about fish balls, she will mention that when she was a child, fish balls were sold selectively, which was called "knocking on the burden" by the people (the homonym of Fuzhou dialect is cut and rolled). It cooks fish balls by tapping bamboo tubes to attract customers. Whenever night falls, "tapping on the shoulder" will walk through the streets and lanes, replacing the selling sound with the crisp and melodious sound of bamboo tubes.
Fish balls are also one of the hometown flavors that Fuzhou wanderers miss day and night. Whenever my uncle in Taiwan Province Province comes back, my family always buys some fish balls to comfort his homesickness.
Now fish ball shops in Fuzhou are blooming everywhere. The following are old brands, which have a good reputation in Fuzhou.
1, Yonghe fish balls
Yonghe Fish Pill, a century-old brand located in Sanqifang Lane, is a representative brand of Fuzhou Fish Pill with a long history.
? This is a traditional snack that has been passed down for three generations, with exquisite craftsmanship. Fish balls are white and tender, which is very pleasing. It feels a little q to bite off the outer layer of soft glutinous rice.
Address: No.89 Nanhou Street (Nanhou Street Branch)
The picture above shows Yonghe Fish Pill Shop in Sanfangqixiang.
2. Dafuxing fish balls
? Dafuxing fish balls, now Dafuxing has been passed down to the fourth generation. A century-old Fuxing has also been innovating and developing with young thinking. As an old brand of Fuzhou fish balls, Dafuxing fish balls are famous for their "big size" and "delicious soup".
Address: Northeast corner of the intersection of Daoshan Road and Macau Road (Jipi Road and Nanhou Street)
3. Fuxin fish balls
The predecessor of this store is the famous old-fashioned tea pavilion intersection, which is the best fish ball shop in the hearts of many old Fuzhou people.
Address: Sanyuan Garden, No.8 Jiaotong Road
4. You can win fish balls
Kesheng Fish Pill is also recommended by many people as "the best fish pill shop in Fuzhou"! The words "Award-winning" are written directly on the storefront, which shows that the store is proud of its products. The skin of Shengli fish balls is similar to the fish eggs of Hong Kong-style refreshments, the stuffing is fragrant but not greasy, and the soup head with it is not as fishy as ordinary fish ball soup. In a word, this is a well-received shop on the Internet, and it is worth a try!
Address: No.4 Qingcheng Market via Dalu (opposite Yangzhou Steamed Bun Shop via Dalu)