Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 港式咖哩魚蛋 (街頭小食) is a classic street food snack served with an addictive spicy curry sauce that is bold, fiery, and aromatic. Fried fish balls are typically served on wooden skewers with daikon and pork skin. Transport the streets of Hong Kong to your home quickly with our delicious curry sauce technique! We guarantee that you will want to double-batch this street snack!

What Is Hong Kong Street Food?

Hong Kong street foods are delicious and iconic in areas like Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, and Kwun Tong. The Asian street food style is second to none and is characterized by its ready-to-eat snacks and drinks. Although street vendors (小販 Xiǎofàn) have a long history from dynastic China, Hong Kong-style curry fish balls started selling on mobile food carts in the 1950s. These mobile food carts operated long before food trucks became popular in North America in 2008.

Check out this quick story summary of our recipe!

> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Curried Fish Balls

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HK Chinese Curry Sauce vs Other Types of Curries

Chinese curry sauces are much different from Indian curry, which consists of saturated fats or ghee (goat milk butter). Indian curry is thicker, pungent and often contains yogurt and heavy cream.

Thai Curry: Thai curries have a thinner consistency, are brightly flavoured with fresh herbs and is lighter tasting flavour profile.

Malaysian Curry: Malaysian-style curry combines Indian and British preferences dating back to 15th Century Colonization. Sweet and savoury notes dominate Malaysian curry powder, while chilli peppers, galangal, and ginger add heat and are smoothed out by adding coconut milk or Belacan (fermented shrimp paste).

Hong Kong Curry - Similar to Malaysian curries, Hong Kong curries are tailored to the Cantonese palate. 

Chinese curries are thick and delicious! The bold, fragrant, fiery melting pot of rich red and yellow curry sauces packs a spicier and darker punch. 

The unbeatable signature curry mixture is elevated by a secret ingredient: Douban sauce (Chilli Bean Sauce là dòubàn jiàng, 辣豆瓣酱).

This delicious street food gravy is so addictive that you will want to spoon it over steamed white rice, baked pork chop rice or even in a bowl of plain noodle soup!

Ingredients and Substitutes

Before we can start the infamous street hawkers' medley of foods with Hong Kong curry sauce, we must first achieve the optimal and unique concentration of aromatic flavours. The long list of ingredients will help create that heavenly and richly spiced seasoning.

Chinese Fried Fish Balls - I prefer to use fried fish balls vs plain white fish balls. Fried fish balls have a bouncy texture that hugs the curry sauce extra tight!

Shallots - minced shallots or finely chopped yellow onions are used to saute and make fragrant the wok 爆香锅.

Garlic - Freshly minced garlic are used along side shallots to saute and bring the cooking oil to an aromatic smoky flavor.

SaCha Sauce - shāchá jiàng 沙茶酱 we particallary are fond of Bullhead Bullhead Barbecue Sauce. 

Satay Sauce - shā diē 沙爹酱 Asian peanut butter sauce is a flavourful blend of soy sauce, salt, garlic, coconut, chilli, onion and lemons.

ChuHou Paste - zhùhóu jiàng, 柱侯酱 is a delicious soybean paste similar to Hoisin pasted specially formulated for braising meats and vegetables. Ingredients include fermented bean curd, salted plums, salted lemons, garlic, ginger, etc. If you do not have ChuHou sauce handy, a close subsitute is Hoisin Sauce.

Spicy Douban Paste - là dòubàn jiàng, 辣豆瓣酱) This chunky chilli bean sauce mixture includes fermented soybeans, broad beans, and chillies. We use this sauce to create a spicy curry base. Curry and chilli powder are later used to adjust your personal spice level preference!

Green Peppercorn Oil - Téng jiāoyóu, 藤椒油 This quick and easy homemade fragrant oil is perfect for elevating all your spicy dishes like this Sichuan Mala Mouth Watering Chicken. All it takes are a few simple ingredients and spices.

Shaoxing Cooking Wine - Shàoxīngjiǔ, 紹興酒 a little bit of this rice wine enhances the overall flavour profile of this popular dish. Use two capfuls to deglaze the pan. 

Oyster Sauce - háo yóu, 蚝油 this fresh sauce commonly used in stir-fries is excellent to round out the curry and to give the mixture some depth and complexity.

Light Soy Sauce - shēng chōu, 生抽 is a naturally brewed soy made from first-batch fermented soybeans livens the flavour profile. Don't be confused, however, that it is not low sodium but quite salty. This fresh soy sauce thin compared to dark soy sauce.

Dark Soy Sauce - lǎo chōu, 老抽 compared to light soy sauce, is well balanced with a thicker, darker and less salty consistency. Dark soy sauce finishes with lingering sweet notes. Add a little dark soy sauce to darken the colour of the curry to a dark amber colour.

Brown Sugar - The curry paste dominated with sodium is more enjoyable by adding a little sugar to balance and harmonize it.

Chicken Stock -  Jījīng, 雞精 Use chicken stock or chicken essence powder dissolved in water to deglaze the pan. This flavouring agent, such as Knorr chicken powder, is a quick way to enhance the flavour of your dishes.

Tumeric Powder - Tumeric powder is a warm, peppery antioxidant with various anti-inflammatory health benefits. We love this Vegan Vegetable Soup that boosts the immune and repairs cells damages. Its bright, yellow-orange hue brightens the curry sauce.

Curry Powder -This spice mixture is made with various yellow spices, such as curry leaves, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and chilli pepper. Once the base of the Chinese-style curry sauce is settled, add curry powder and chilli powder to adjust your spice level.

Chili Powder - This spicy, peppery powder is robust, flavourful, and aromatic. Add a little to adjust your spice level. Taste and repeat it if not to your desired heat.

Corn Starch Slurry - Dissolve corn starch in water to create a corn starch slurry to tighten sauces to the desired consistency. Skip this step if you prefer a thinner sauce.

Most dry goods ingredients, tools and supplies can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store or Amazon Online.

Instructions

Whether you pierce the bamboo skewers with fish balls, daikon white radishes, beef omasums and tripe or squid tentacles, let's start by formulating that flavour-packed explosive curry sauce.

HK Curry Paste Base

In a small bowl, prepare the curry paste base.

Add Sacha sauce, Douban sauce, curry paste, Chu hou sauce, and Satay sauce. Mix well and combine. Set aside.

Add cooking oil or homemade green peppercorn fragrant oil to a non-stick pan or wok. Heat oil over low-medium heat.

Add minced garlic and finely chopped shallots to the hot pan. Saute and simmer until they start to get fragrant and become golden brown. Stir frequent and avoid burning. Bring the heat down if it starts to brown too quickly.

Add the curry paste base to the caramelized shallots and garlic in the wok. Set to low heat. Frequently stirring and pushing the paste around for a few minutes.  

Have a dose of patience when frying up curry sauce so that it does not burn. It is essential to take your time with this step.

Turn the heat up to medium-high heat.

Seasoning

To enhance the flavour, add Shaoxing cooking wine around the perimeter of the wok to deglaze the wok. Allow it to vapourize briefly. 

Add chicken stock to the wok. Bring to a boil. 

Add seasoning to the curry sauce by adding oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce for colour. Bring to a boil and let it steep for a few minutes.

Pro Tip: If you want to increase the spice level, add extra curry powder and chilli powder.

The optimal flavour for Cantonese street food style curry sauce is richly velvety and boldly spicy with a hint of curry. All the sauces we use are to accompany and highlight the curry flavour. 

Remember, Hong Kong Curry carries notes of sweetness. 

Add two tablespoons of brown sugar to the wok.

Bring to a boil, stir fry and push the paste around to combine. Avoid burning. 

Now we can tighten the sauce. Slowly add a cornstarch slurry (dissolved corn starch with a little water) to the curry mixture while stirring frequently.

Refrain from over-reducing the sauce. You want to save some sauce for your white rice or for another meal like curried beef briskets!

Bring the sauce back to a boil. Ensure that the curry sauce is thoroughly cooked, or it will flop, separate and break apart.

Turn off the heat and let it steep for 2-3 minutes.

Assembly Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls

In a large pot, cook fried fish balls in salted water according to packaged instructions. 

Refrain from boiling the fried fish balls in high heat. Chinese fish balls lose their tender texture and become less bouncy!

Pierce cooked four to five fish balls with a bamboo skewer. 

Evenly coat each fish ball skewer with curry sauce. 

Experiment with your favourite curried dishes. Daikon white radishes, beef omasums and tripe or squid tentacles are great options.

Enjoy hot.

Homemade curry sauce can be stored in an air-tight container or mason jar for up to five days in the refrigerator. 

What To Serve With Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls

This popular street food and HK snack can be easily made at home. The curry sauce can be repurposed and used to cook a variety of main courses. I love an excellent fork-tender curried beef brisket with steamed rice. 

Serve curried fish balls along or as a side dish with a bowl of white jasmine steamed rice or stir-fried leafy green vegetables.

• Microwave Black Cod with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸黑魚微波爐
• Air Fryer Bean Curd Sheets with Baby Bok 皮蒜蓉炒白菜
• Chinese Braised Eggplant 紅燒茄子
• Vegan Dan Dan Noodles 擔擔麵 素食
• Air Fryer Soy Sauce Chicken Thighs 氣炸鍋豉油雞

After indulging in spicy, heaty, and crispy food, don't forget to cool away heat with a bowl of this liver-detoxing Chinese Sweet Mung Bean Soup 綠豆沙!

I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.

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