Many faces of fish cake

Chinese-style fish cake is among the most versatile of proteins. The raw fish paste is great plain, dolloped into soups, stuffed into tofu and steamed, mixed with vegetables and deep-fried, or dressed up with shrimp and stuffed in peppers and eggplant.

Look for a pink-gray plastic carton or foam tray in the seafood section of your favorite grocery store or Chinatown market. Fish cake costs $7 to $9 a pound, which might seem pricey, but just a little can flavor an entire bowl of cooked vegetables.

In Hawaii, fish cake is usually made from two types of fish: awa awa (ladyfish) or oio (bonefish). The meat is scraped off these two boney fish and mixed with cornstarch and water or chicken broth, and is sold raw and ready to add to a variety of dishes.

Fish cake’s most familiar, already-cooked "cousin" is Japanese kamaboko, those pink and white half-moon blocks of steamed fish cake. Some fish markets sell lomi oio, which looks like raw Chinese fish cake but also includes chili, salt, onions and other ingredients, and is meant to be eaten uncooked. Lomi oio can replace regular fish cake in recipes for a spicier, saltier flavor.

The easiest way to take advantage of Chinese fish cake is to add it to any soup. A trick in dealing with the sticky paste is to wet a teaspoon before scooping the fish cake and dropping it into the soup. The water prevents the fish from sticking to the spoon. In the pot the raw, translucent paste turns white as it cooks.

When using fish cake that has been frozen, thaw completely before using to ensure a consistent texture.

My popo (grandmother) Louise Ho Lo would put these delicious balls of plain fish cake into her watercress and squash soups, and even into jook (rice gruel). The tasty, tender bites were satisfying surprises in every bowl.

For an embellished fish cake, combine any vegetable or additional protein with the raw paste: green onions, Chinese parsley, water chestnuts, onions, celery, grated carrots, gobo (burdock), mushrooms, shrimp and ground pork are just a few possibilities. The list is endless and should be tailored to your preferences.

Fish cake can be cooked in any fashion — simmered, deep-fried, pan-fried or steamed — then sliced and added to cooked vegetables to provide an accent of fish.

No matter how it is prepared, fish cake is delicious.

Make Your Own 

Countless fish have been thrown back because they’re considered too boney. For this reason alone, the person who invented fish cake was ingenious.

LLOYD KOMAGOME’S OIO FISH CAKE
2 cups oio (bonefish), scraped from the bones
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Place scraped oio in a large mixing bowl. Add cornstarch and chicken broth and mix slowly with spoon. Remove any fish bones. Add salt and speed up mixing as fish absorbs the broth and cornstarch; continue mixing until it reaches desired thickness. Makes about 3 cups.

Nutritional information unavailable.

EASY PORK AND CHINESE OKRA SOUP WITH FISH CAKE BALLS
2 cups pork spareribs, cut into 1-inch pieces (substitute with any kind of pork)
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1 piece chung choy (salted, dried turnip), rinsed1 long Chinese okra, (also called loofah, silk squash or see kwa), peeled but not seeded and sliced diagonally, about 2 cups (substitute with winter melon, watercress, mustard cabbage or won bok)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fish cake
Green onions and Chinese parsley, for garnish

In large pot on high, bring to boil spareribs, broth, water, ginger and chung choy. Reduce heat to medium; cook 1 hour. 

Add squash and salt and cook 3 minutes. Using teaspoon, add fish cake. Cook 3 more minutes. 

Garnish and serve immediately. Do not overcook or squash will fall apart. Serves 8 as part of a multicourse meal.

Approximate nutritional information, per ball: 220 calories, 16 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, minimum 850 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 13 g protein

FISH CAKE STUFFED PEPPERS
2 cups fish cake
5 shrimp, peeled, cleaned and chopped
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon finely ground white or black pepper
3 large green or red peppers, washed, seeded and cut into 1-1/2-by-1-1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water

Mix fish cake, shrimp, green onion and pepper. Spoon mixture into peppers. 

Heat oil on medium in cast-iron skillet or pan. Add peppers, pepper side down. Reduce heat to low and cover. After 5 minutes, add 1 tablespoon water and cover. 

After 20 minutes, turn peppers over so fish cake side is down. Cover and cook 5 minutes until peppers are soft. (Cut cooking time by a minute or two for a crunchier pepper.) Serves 8 as part of a multicourse meal.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 100 calories, 2.5 g fat, 35 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 9 g protein

STEAMED STUFFED TOFU
1 large block (20 ounces) firm tofu, drained at least 1 hour
2 cups fish cake
5 shrimp, peeled and chopped
1/2 can (4 ounces) water chestnuts, chopped
2 stalks green onions, minced
Green onions and Chinese parsley, for garnish

Cut drained tofu into 3-by-1-inch triangles. Slice partway through middle to make a pocket for stuffing. 

Mix fish cake, shrimp, water chestnuts and green onions. Stuff each tofu triangle with mixture and steam 15 minutes, or until fish cake is white. Garnish. Makes about 10 stuffed tofu.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 110 calories, 3 g fat, no saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, no sugar, 12 g protein

FRIED FISH CAKE APPETIZERS
Courtesy Lloyd Komagome
2 cups fish cake
1/4 white or yellow onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
Vegetable oil, for frying
Mix fish cake with onions, celery and oyster sauce. 

In wok or skillet, add oil to either pan-fry or deep-fry. When oil is hot, dip small spoon into water and scoop fish cake mix into oil. 

Fry to taste about 3 minutes on each side, until brown. Makes 50 to 60 fish balls. 

Approximate nutritional information, per ball (based on 60 balls): 35 calories, 3 g fat, no saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, no fiber or sugar

Lynette Lo Tom is writing a cookbook about Chinese food in Hawaii and is looking for the restaurant that invented cake noodle. Call her at 275-3004.