One of my favorite after school snacks from primary school. I remember packing up my books as quickly as possible and running out the gates with my friends, straight to the little street cart waiting for us.
Even though everyone calls them “cá viên chiên” carts (which means “fried fish balls”) – they actually sell a huge variety of deep fried skewers: fish, shrimp, and beef balls, tofu, sausage, okra, quail eggs, and more!
Since most of the ingredients are pre-cooked and only take a few minutes to fry, the skewers are fried to order. Once fried, the are served immediately with sriracha and hoisin sauce. Fair warning: these balls get incredibly hot, so be careful as to not burn your mouth!
These fish, shrimp, and beef balls are the same ones you’ll find at hotpot places. You can buy them frozen from most Asian stores. You can definitely make them at home, but it may not be worth the effort. For now, our “recipe” will just be on how to fry the pre-made ones!