JAPANESE-STYLE WHITE FISH BALLS IN SHIITAKE-GINGER BROTH

Japanese-Style White Fish Balls in Shiitake-Ginger Broth image

Yield serves 4 to 6

Number Of Ingredients 14

Fish Balls
1/2 pound skinless fatty white-fleshed fish fillets, such as black sea bass, white sea bass, or butterfish
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Soup
6 cups water
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems cut off and chopped and caps thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peeled and coarsely chopped fresh ginger
4 cilantro sprigs
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
8 spinach roots, cut in half lengthwise
2 small scallions, white and light green parts, cut lengthwise into thin strands

Steps:

To make the fish balls, cut the fish into 1- to 2-inch chunks, place in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Add the ginger, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and process until thoroughly blended. With wet hands, pat the mixture into 3/4-inch balls. Set aside on a plate, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
To make the soup, combine the water, mushroom stems, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook until the mushroom and ginger pieces are soft, about 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean medium saucepan. Discard the contents of the strainer.
Bring the strained broth just to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the shiitake caps, spinach roots, and fish balls and cook until the balls rise to the top, about 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish each bowl with a few scallion strands, and serve piping hot.