Fish balls substitutes
Fish balls substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Fish cake slices (kamaboko or chikuwa)
Same amount by weight as the fish balls
The same fish paste steamed into a loaf or tube and sliced.
Sliced fish cake, kamaboko or chikuwa is the same paste in a different shape and swaps 1:1, though it is softer and less bouncy. Frozen fish tofu is excellent in curry fish balls because it soaks up sauce. Squid balls, beef balls or bouncy pork meatballs keep the springy bite and change the flavour. Imitation crab sticks work at 1:1 but fray, so add them at the very end.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- similar taste, different texture
- Best for —
- noodle soups
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of fish balls | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fish cake slices (kamaboko or chikuwa)noodle soups | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Frozen fish tofu or fish cake cubescurry fish balls | Same amountYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Squid balls, beef balls or bouncy pork meatballshot pot | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Imitation crab sticks (surimi)noodle soups | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Homemade fish ballsnoodle soups | 300g fish, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp ice water makes about 20Tweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Fried tofu puffs or firm tofu cubesvegetarian hot pot | Same amount by volumeYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Fish cake slices (kamaboko or chikuwa)
similar taste, different texture
The same fish paste steamed into a loaf or tube and sliced.
- Best for
- noodle soups, hot pot, udon, stir-fries
Identical flavour, because it is the same product in another shape. The bite is softer and flatter, without the dense springiness of a ball, and the thin slices go floppy if you leave them in the broth, so add them in the last 2 to 3 minutes. Chikuwa, the grilled tube kind, is chewier and closer to a fish ball than flat kamaboko is.
Frozen fish tofu or fish cake cubes
different taste and texture
Spongy fried cubes of fish paste blended with egg and starch.
- Best for
- curry fish balls, hot pot, braises, skewers
Softer, sweeter and much more absorbent, so it drinks up curry sauce or broth like a sponge, which is a genuine advantage in curry fish balls where the sauce is the star. In a clear soup the sweetness is more obvious and the spongy texture is a long way from a springy ball.
Squid balls, beef balls or bouncy pork meatballs
different taste, similar texture
The same pounded-paste technique applied to squid, beef or pork.
- Best for
- hot pot, noodle soups, skewers, curry
These keep the springy bite, which is the thing hardest to replace, and change the flavour instead. Squid balls are closest and read as clean and marine. Beef and pork balls make a fish ball noodle soup taste heavier and meatier, and they cloud a delicate broth. Cook them the same way.
Imitation crab sticks (surimi)
different taste and texture
The same surimi base rolled into sticks and coloured.
- Best for
- noodle soups, hot pot, salads
Made from the same fish paste, so the flavour is in the right place, but it is noticeably sweeter and much softer, and it shreds into strands rather than holding a shape. Add it in the final minute or it frays into the broth and disappears. Wrong for skewers.
Homemade fish balls
similar taste, different texture
Skinless white fish blitzed cold with salt and starch, then poached.
- Best for
- noodle soups, hot pot, when no Asian grocery is nearby
Blitz cold pollock, cod or tilapia with the salt first until it turns sticky and pale, then work in the starch and ice water. Rest the paste 30 minutes, then spoon balls into barely-simmering water for 4 to 5 minutes. They taste fresher and cleaner than any packet, and they are tender rather than bouncy, because the industrial springiness comes from heavy pounding at near-freezing temperatures. Keep everything cold or they will be crumbly.
Fried tofu puffs or firm tofu cubes
different taste and texture
The vegetarian option, soaking up broth in place of the fish.
- Best for
- vegetarian hot pot, noodle soups, curry
Tofu puffs are the better of the two because their honeycomb interior floods with broth, which is satisfying in a different way. There is no bounce and no fish flavour at all, so drop a piece of kombu into the broth to put the marine savouriness back and season a little more assertively.
Questions
5 questionsWhat are fish balls made of?
White fish, often pollock, mackerel or eel, pounded with salt and a little starch until the proteins bind into a springy gel, then rolled into balls and poached. The salt and the pounding are what create the bounce; the fish flavour itself is deliberately mild.
Are fish balls the same as fish cake?
They are the same paste in different formats. Fish cake, including Japanese kamaboko and chikuwa, is steamed or grilled into a loaf or tube and then sliced, so it is softer and flatter. Fish balls are rolled and poached, which keeps them dense and bouncy. You can swap one for the other, you just lose or gain the springy bite.
Can I use imitation crab sticks instead?
Yes, since they are made from the same surimi base, but they are sweeter and far softer and they shred as they cook. Add them in the last minute of cooking and do not use them anywhere the shape matters, such as on a skewer.
Can I make fish balls at home?
You can, and they taste better than most packets, though they will be tender rather than truly bouncy. Blitz 300g of cold skinless white fish with a teaspoon of salt until sticky, work in a tablespoon of cornflour and two of ice water, rest the paste for 30 minutes, then poach spoonfuls in barely-simmering water for 4 to 5 minutes. Everything must stay cold.
Can I just leave them out of a hot pot?
In a hot pot, yes, since there are plenty of other things in the pot and nothing depends on them. In a fish ball noodle soup or a plate of curry fish balls they are the dish, so use another bouncy ball, squid, beef or pork, or fish cake slices instead. Leaving them out simply gives you noodles in broth.
Tips for substituting fish balls
5 tips- Simmer, never boil hard. A rolling boil makes fish balls rubbery and can split them open, so bring the broth to a bare shiver and give them 4 to 6 minutes, or until they float and puff slightly.
- Frozen fish balls go straight into the broth from the freezer. Thawing them first turns the outside soft and slightly slimy, and they only need a minute or two longer from frozen.
- For curry fish balls, cut a shallow cross in the top of each one before it goes into the sauce. The cuts open up as they cook and the curry gets inside instead of just coating the outside.
- They are already seasoned and often quite salty, so taste the broth after they have simmered rather than before. This is the most common way a fish ball noodle soup ends up over-salted.
- The texture is the point, so shop for it: packets labelled bouncy or springy, and the denser handmade-style balls, are what you want for soup and skewers. The soft cheap ones are better in a heavily sauced curry where the sauce does the talking.