It is easy to deride Filipino street food as nutritionally bankrupt. I am, of course, referring to the most affordable kind: tempura, fish ball, and squid roll, basically deep-fried flour paste that taste nothing like the things they are named after. It’s all about the sauce.
I have made honest-to-goodness fish balls before. I guess I thought that bringing real fish back into them would make for a better experience. Alas, it just didn’t feel right not eating them on the sidewalk. Or maybe I should say they tasted too much like real food, taking the fun out of them. I prefer my fish balls spongy.
What I’m trying to say is that these balls here are actually nuggets, made from whole fish, if teeny-tiny ones: bolináw, or, to be more precise, tugnos (anchovy fry). Go ahead and click on the photos for a better view of those eyes peeking through the crispy batter while their slim figures are outlined like fossils on rock. Trust me, they only look creepy in pictures.
At any rate, I had doubts if the nuggets would hold their shape, and steeled myself to the possibility of ending up with patties. I drained the fry (a cup’s worth) as best as I could. For the batter, ¼ cup cornstarch, 3 tablespoons of flour, a teaspoon of granulated garlic, a pinch each of baking powder and baking soda, and 2 to 3 teaspoons of hon-dashi to ramp up the fish flavor, combined with ¼ cup cold beer. After incorporating the fish into the batter, I let the mixture set in the refrigerator for an hour. To form the balls, I used an oiled measuring teaspoon to scoop the mixture and patted around the surface to keep them fish from sticking out this way and that (successfully for the most part).
As with the tuna fried rice from yesterday’s post, I really should ease up on my bolináw consumption, in which case these nuggets are not helping any. They were very good indeed, especially with sweet chili sauce — emphasis on chili — or lemon-spiked Japanese mayo, although plain old ketchup will do just fine. But make no mistake: these balls can roll on their own. Excuse me — nuggets.
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