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!
Cá viên chiên • Fried fish balls & assorted skewers
Course: SnacksCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Easy5
minutes5
minutes10
minutesIngredients
Fish balls
Shrimp balls
Beef balls
Tofu
Vegetable oil
Wooden skewers (optional)
Sriracha
Hoisin sauce
Japanese mayo
Directions
- Defrost and let the fish/shrimp/beef balls come up to room temperature.
- Pat dry the fish/shrimp/beef balls and tofu.
- Cut tofu into bite size pieces.
- Add oil into a small pot, about ~3cm layer.
- Heat oil on medium to 160°C/320°F – oil should be bubbling around a wooden chopstick or spatula.
- Add the balls/tofu and fry, stirring continuously so all sides are evenly cooked. Everything should be done in about 2 minutes.
- Use tongs pick up one piece at a time and add to skewers. I usually add 4-5 per skewer. The skewers add to the fun experience of eating these, but you definitely can do without.
- Serve with sriracha and hoisin sauce. We also like adding Japanese mayo.
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