Tamsui Fish Balls 淡水鱼丸

Tamsui Fish Balls (淡水鱼丸) are the stuffed fish balls of Tamsui District (淡水區) in New Taipei (新北市). The New Taipei Economic Development Department (新北市經濟發展局) describes them as made from a paste of good-quality shark meat wrapped around a filling of minced braised pork (肉燥). Chinese Wikipedia counts Tamsui shark fish balls among the four representative fish balls of Taiwan, alongside mahi-mahi fish balls from Nanfang'ao (南方澳), milkfish balls from Tainan (臺南) and swordfish balls from Kaohsiung (高雄).

How it is made

Shark meat is mixed with a little starch (太白粉) and then wrapped around the pork filling. The department's page on the Tamsui Old Street (淡水老街) shopping district describes the finished balls as white oval cylinders, snow-white like silkworm cocoons.

How it is eaten

Tamsui Fish Balls are served in a clear bone broth scattered with diced green celery, and the same page describes the texture as crisp and springy. The pork filling holds hot meat juices, and the department's page warns eaters to take their time so the scalding broth inside does not burn the tongue. On Zhongzheng Road (中正路) in the old street, one fish-ball shop of more than 40 years pairs its soft fish balls with a-gei (阿給) in a special sauce.

Where it comes from

The department calls the fish balls a strong taste of home that has comforted many Tamsui people living away from the district. Their dependence on shark is now a conservation question: a food-education lesson plan on the Ministry of Agriculture (農業部) platform notes that many sharks are listed as protected species because heavy fishing and bycatch have reduced wild numbers, and asks whether the dish can survive.