Fish Dumplings

I originally started this blog as an excuse to push myself to try new recipes.  At first it was more of a documentation of the recipes I've tried, good or bad.  Since then I feel I have, consciously or not, attempted to cater to a specific audience.  As such I've noticed I cook more, but actually post less.  I've tended to only share the good.

Granted I've had very few recipes that seemed to outright fail.  But they do happen.  This recipe these fish dumplings came from is a case in point.

Rather than dwell on how inedible we found this particular meal to be, I thought at the very least I would share the positive aspect.  The meal was originally a Thai style curry with fish dumplings.  The fish dumplings were amazing.  But the curry was so potent...so awful, I'd rather not share that part.  Lesson learned...if 6 shallots seems like a bit much onion to form the base of what should be a delicate curry sauce, it probably is.  The curry paste was so pungent, my eyes watered from the moment I started slicing the shallots to the moment the garbage bag with the last remnants of the dinner was tied up.

But the dumplings were lovely...

Adapted from the Curry Bible by Jacki Passmore

serves 4


The Ingredients:
1 lb flaky white fish, cubed (tilapia or swai work well)
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 Tbsp water


The Process:
Place the fish, salt and water in food processor.  Grind until soft and pasty.  Moisten your hands and form the fish into walnut-sized balls

Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a gentle boil.  Add the fish dumplings a few at a time and poach until the dumpling float to the surface, about 2 minutes.  (They really do cook that fast)

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.  Gently toss with curry of your choice and serve warm.

The Review:
Easy, isn't it?  And the dumplings are quite wonderful.  Blending the fish into a paste and then forming them into little meatballs creates a texture most of us would never guess as seafood.  They are heartier.  Almost as dense as traditional meatballs, but with a wonderfully delicate flavor.

You can see why it was such a pity to have a horrendously pungent onion-dominate curry sauce with them.  These little fish balls really need something incredibly light to set off they flavor.