A good time in seven star fish balls

It is white, fat, smooth and tender, and it is unbearable to put your mouth down; it floats in the bowl, in the steaming heat, like a mortal fairy, and like the stars in the night sky shining on the mortal world. After eating countless delicacies, the seven-star fish balls in my hometown are still my favorite. A bowl of seven-star fish ball soup is only white and green, light and delicate, it is a world for two people, and it is also a good time for me and my mother.

■ Qi Rongrong

It is white, fat, smooth and tender, and it is unbearable to put your mouth down; it floats in the bowl, in the steaming heat, like a mortal fairy, and like the stars in the night sky shining on the mortal world. Indomitable follower of food, I went out of my hometown, went to Beijing, and after eating countless delicacies, the seven-star fish balls in my hometown are still my favorite.

Seven Star Fish Balls are delicious not only because they are made of fish meat, but also have a filling made of lean pork and fresh shrimp inside. Take a bite, the tendons are smooth and tender, and before you can taste it carefully, you will slip into your belly, and the aroma of fish, meat, and shrimp will be mixed, and the aroma that cannot be expressed in words will swirl in your mouth, which is really evocative!

There is also an ancient legend of the Seven Star Fish Ball. It is said that there was a merchant in the Qing Dynasty who planned to go to Nanyang to do business, he took a fishing boat to the sea, and as a result, the boat was not far away from the storm, and the fishing boat was damaged by the waves, so it stopped on the edge of a small island, while repairing the boat while waiting for the wind and waves to calm down. In those few days on the island, there was no food, only fish could be eaten every day, and the merchants wanted to change their taste very much. The fisherman's wife took out the only tapioca flour and fish meat mixed together to make fish balls, and the merchant praised it after eating it. A few years later, the merchant returned to his hometown to open a restaurant and asked the fisherman's son to be a cook. In the continuous inheritance, the original solid fish balls have become heart-wrapped fish balls with delicious fillings, which makes foodies salivate even more.

When I went home to visit my relatives, I was a fish ball lover, even if it was a long time before the meal time, I could not stand the disturbance of hungry insects, and I stepped forward with the aroma, and entered the door and ordered two bowls of seven-star fish balls. Whiskers, fish balls on the table. For many years, it is still what I have in mind - white porcelain bowls, white fish balls, white soup with turquoise chives scattered on it, light and seductive fresh fragrance, stirring my taste buds, steaming hot air in front of my eyes.

Suddenly, my eyes were filled with tears—in the steaming water, I seemed to see my mother sitting across from me. Maybe subconsciously, how did I get to this seat of this small shop, which is still the shop where my mother took me to eat fish balls. It was also this position, the time turned back, when I was still a little girl - I looked at the aunt who walked by the window and said to my mother: "Mom, you see how beautiful that aunt is, you can also buy a dress like that, right?" You also burn your head, how beautiful it is."

At that time, when the fish balls were served, there was only one bowl, and my mother moved the bowl in front of me and said, "Eat slowly, there is stuffing in it, hot!" ”

A bowl of seven-star fish ball soup is only white and green, light and delicate, it is a world for two people, and it is also a good time for me and my mother.

At that time, as long as I finished in the top ten in the final exam, my mother would take me here to eat fish balls. At that time, it was a luxury to be able to eat such a bowl of seven-star fish balls outside. For this bowl of delicious fish balls, I studied hard. Finally, Mom and delicious fish ball soup sent me off to the college campus.

Later, when I worked and lived in Beijing, I once bought countless kinds of fish balls from supermarkets, but I couldn't find the texture and taste of fish balls in my hometown. In order to soothe the thoughts in my heart, I tried to make fish balls myself, crushed the fish meat into a puree with the back of a knife, added egg whites and a little starch, and added refined salt, pepper, flower carving wine and other spices to stir vigorously, and beat the fine meat and shrimp into meat paste, add ginger, chives, and fine salt and stir well to set aside.

Dig a spoon with a spoon of surimi in the palm of your hand, slowly flatten, and then put the other prepared filling on the surimi, to push the surimi up little by little, and finally close, there can be no dew filling, nor can it be thin and uneven, surimi and stuffing must fit each other, in order to keep each other, in order to give each other a delicious taste, to achieve a good meal.

The broth is the fate fairy of the fish balls, and only in a pot of fresh and fragrant broth, the light and dancing fish balls are the best. The heat is the life door of the fish balls, boiling fish balls if the fire boiling water will put the fish balls to death, the soup should seem to be open, 95 degrees of water temperature, fish balls one by one underground into the pot, the other hand to use the soup spoon to gently push the soup in the pot, the fish balls will not sink and stick to the bottom of the pot.

When the fish balls float to the soup noodles, the heat is just right, the fish balls are served together with the soup into a delicate bone china bowl, sprinkled with a little green chives, and a good food is finished.

When served, the aroma is overflowing. Late at night, people are quiet, think about it, the reason why the seven-star fish balls are like shadows in the depths of my heart is actually to miss the atmosphere of home, the joy and warmth of a family of three, and miss a love that belongs only to my mother.

Editor-in-charge: Dai Yu