Fish Balls substitute

Best substitute

Fish Cake Slices (Kamaboko or Chikuwa)

Use the same amount by weight as the fish balls you are replacing

Best for noodle soups

Different texture

The same fish paste steamed into a loaf or tube and sliced.

Other fish balls substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Frozen Fish Tofu or Fish Cake Cubes
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Spongy fried cubes of fish paste blended with egg and starch.
What changes
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.
3Squid Balls, Beef Balls or Bouncy Pork Meatballs
Different taste
Use the same amount
The same pounded-paste technique applied to squid, beef or pork.
What changes
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.
4Imitation Crab Sticks (Surimi)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The same surimi base rolled into sticks and coloured.
What changes
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.
5Homemade Fish Balls
Different texture
300g fish, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp ice water makes about 20
Skinless white fish blitzed cold with salt and starch, then poached.
What changes
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.
6Fried Tofu Puffs or Firm Tofu Cubes
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
The vegetarian option, soaking up broth in place of the fish.
What changes
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.

What is Fish Balls?

Fish Balls is the bouncy poached balls of pounded white fish paste sold fresh, frozen or vacuum-packed at Asian groceries, used in hot pot, noodle soups and Hong Kong-style curry fish balls.

Cooking 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.

Frequently asked questions

What 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.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Fish Balls substitute

Other fish balls substitutes

2Frozen Fish Tofu or Fish Cake Cubes

3Squid Balls, Beef Balls or Bouncy Pork Meatballs

4Imitation Crab Sticks (Surimi)

5Homemade Fish Balls

6Fried Tofu Puffs or Firm Tofu Cubes