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 get rid of all the fishbones, chop up too many fish, and say "dismember the body into ten thousand pieces". This is also the case that the chef who is in a hurry is at a loss and angrily slaps the fish on the board with the back of his knife until the fish becomes pulp. When the instruction came, he simply kneaded 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 pork lean meat 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. Decorate it with chopped green onion 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 took his boat to the south to do business. The boat 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 are used as food. The businessman sighed, "There are fish every day, and the food is tasteless. Can you change your taste? " "The ship's grain has been cut off, only a bag of potato powder," said the boatwoman. The ingenious boatwoman peeled and pricked a big eel that she had just caught, chopped the fish, coated it with potato powder, made meatballs, and tasted them after cooking. Afterwards, the businessman returned to Fuzhou and opened a "seven-star snack bar" in the city, which specially hired the boat lady as a chef and exclusively operated "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 held out fish balls. After lifting the food, I thought it was delicious, so I wrote a poem: "Little stars are scattered, jade is sweet." Although there is a thousand-year-old wine fragrance in southern Xinjiang, it is rare that the seven stars are poetic and spleen. "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 shops have become more and more popular. "Seven Star Fish Pills" also got its name.
The first time I saw fish balls, I was a fish ball vendor carrying a pole 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 length". 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 I was a child, fish balls were sold with a burden, which was called "knocking on the burden" by the people (the homonym in Fuzhou dialect is cut and rolled). It attracts customers by knocking on bamboo tubes, thus cooking fish balls. Every night arrival, "knocking on the shoulder" will walk through the streets and lanes, replacing the selling sound with the crisp and pleasant sound of bamboo tubes.
Fish balls are also one of the hometown flavors that Fuzhou overseas travelers 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 time-honored 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 handed down from three generations with exquisite craftsmanship. Fish balls are white and tender, which is very pleasing to the eye. It feels a bit 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-fashioned fish ball in Fuzhou, Dafuxing fish ball is famous for its "big head" and "good soup".
Address: Northeast corner of the intersection of Daoshan Road and Macau Road (Jibei Road and Nanhou Street)
3. Fuxin fish balls
The predecessor of this store is the famous old tea pavilion intersection, which is the most delicious fish ball shop in many old Fuzhou hearts.
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 word "award-winning" is written directly on the storefront, which declares the store's pride in its products. The skin of Shengli fish balls is similar to the fish eggs of Hong Kong-style tea. The stuffing is fragrant but not greasy, and the soup with it is not as fishy as ordinary fish ball soup. In short, it is a shop with rave reviews on the Internet, which is worth a try!
Address: No.4 Qingcheng Market, Jingda Road (opposite to Yangzhou Steamed Bun Shop, Jingda Road)