Ingredients
10 g dried shiitake mushroom (finely chopped), 25 g cooked ham (finely chopped), 25 g pea shoots (cleaned), 100 g eel meat, 100 g water.
Seasonings
3 g salt, 10 g cooking wine, MSG and cornstarch to taste, a little lard.
Instructions
1. Rinse the fish fillets clean, place them on a cutting board, and use the back of a knife to pound the fish until broken down, then chop it into a fine paste with the blade. Transfer the paste to a bowl, first add 100 g (about 1/2 cup) of water and stir in one direction until it forms a thick slurry. Using your right hand, grab the salt in your palm, insert it into the fish paste, and stir in a circular motion while gradually releasing the salt from your palm to evenly incorporate it. Add 150 g (about 2/3 cup) more water and continue stirring. Then add starch and mix vigorously, followed by cooking wine, a little lard, and MSG, stirring until well combined. This forms the fish ball mixture.
2. Place water in a wok. With your left hand, tightly grip the fish paste in your palm, then loosen your thumb and index finger to squeeze out a ball about the size of a longan. Use a soup spoon in your right hand to scoop the ball into the water. Repeat until all the fish paste is used. Bring the wok to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and gently stir the fish balls with a spatula to turn them. When the water boils again, immediately add some cold water. Once the fish balls float to the surface and are cooked through, remove them.
3. Bring the original broth in the wok to a rolling boil over high heat, skim off any foam, then add the pea shoots and minced shiitake mushrooms and cook until just tender. Add the fish balls, sprinkle with minced ham, season with salt and MSG, drizzle in a few drops of lard, then remove from heat and serve in a soup bowl. This soup features tender, soft fish balls and a light, fragrant broth, rich in protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients.