Easy Fish Balls Soup

Fish balls soup was one of the easiest and simplest dish I've prepared. You can absolutely make this one whenever you're hungry and didn't have much time to cook as long as you have some fish balls in your fridge. You may add in noodles in your soup if you prefer, or you can have it with dipping sauce.

Easy Fish Balls Soup

2 litre of chicken stock
100 g celery - cut coarsely
1 large onion - cut coarsely
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
4 cardamom
2 star anise
6 tbsp crispy fried shallot
3 stalks spring onions, sliced
ground white pepper
salt

300g assorted fish cakes and fish balls - blanched
sliced spring onions
crispy fried shallot

1. To make the soup base, simply add in chicken stock, celery, onion, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and star anise in a stock pot. Let it boil.
2. Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.
3. Strain soup with strainer or muslin clothes.
4. Sprinkle some spring onion, crispy fried shallot, white pepper and salt to taste.
5. Add in the fish cakes and fish balls into your soup.
6. Garnish with more spring onion and fried shallot.
7. Ready to serve.

# If you need a dipping sauce, simply add in 1/2 cup of light soy sauce, 1/4 cup boiled water, 1 tsp of chilli flakes, 1 tsp vinegar, and a dash of fish sauce and/or sesame oil

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad

I'm no expert on fish. To tell the truth, I rarely had any chance to clean any fish. In my memory, there were only once where I had to clean a fish which was during my basic western class (though, I did this with a friend). In fact, if they asked me to clean any fish during my final exam in Culinary study, I would fail miserably. I probably wouldn't be able to have my diploma, or my degree. It's not that I didn't know how to do it. It was just that, I never had much opportunity to do it (or, I seemed to be avoiding them).

I made this Grilled Sardine as part of a challenge for myself to clean a fish. The combination of sardine & orange is really refreshing.

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad (inspired from BBC Good Food)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp orange zest

4 fresh sardine fillets

2 oranges

2 tsp orange juice

2 cups boiled Rotini Pasta (spiral)

1 cup spinach - washed, tossed

1/2 cup coriander leaves

1 shallot, thinly sliced

salt & pepper

1. Lightly slash the skin of sardine and marinade fillets with ground black pepper, orange zest and salt. Keep refrigerated for an hour.

2. Heat the grill.

3. Segment the orange. Peel away any white pith.

4. Grill sardine, skin side up until crisp and cooked through in about 5 minutes.

5. Toss in cooked rotini pasta with orange juice, segmented orange, shallot, coriander leaves and spinach.

6. Divide pasta between 2 plates, and top pasta with grilled sardines.

7. Ready to serve.

Fish Fillet with Chillies and Thai Herbs

In my home, I rarely cooked side dishes. My mother did a better job at that than I am. When my mother asked me to cook, I was thinking of cooking a side dishes to go with the white rice. I browsed through my recipe book, and found a recipe for stir fry chicken with chillies and Thai herbs. I substitute the chicken for fish fillet, though... The recipe is very easy and quick! My family said it tasted good too! I'm sure I'll be making them again sometimes :)

Ingredients:

2 lemon grass stalk

4 tbsp vegetable oil

6 fresh bird's eye chillies - deseeded and chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

800g fish fillet

3 tbsp thai fish sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriender

3 fresh bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced to garnish

5 baby tomatoes to garnish

1. Cut off and discard the woody top part of the lemon grass stalk, leaving about 5 inches of the bulb end, and slice them. Heat the oil in a wok. Add in the chilies, lemon grass and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the fish fillet and stir fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce, sou sauce and continue to stir fry them until the fish is cooked thorough.

3. Stir in the coriander, Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with sliced chillies, baby tomatoes and coriander leaves.