The miracle of fish paste

Fresh fish paste is sometimes sold by the tub, for the home cook to take home. Once in the kitchen, it is mixed with egg or tofu and steamed for an easy dish suitable for young and old.

More often than not, the fish paste is dropped into boiling soup for yet another simple but tasty addition to the dining table.

That's not all. Fish meat is also steamed, sliced and sun-dried to produce crisp crunchy crackers. Some fish crackers are more robust and are semi-dried, only to be rehydrated again in soups and stews.

In my own childhood, fish paste was made at home.

The cheaper varieties of sea fish such as mackerel or bream were bought by the kilo. The fish were halved down the backbone and an essential tool brought out. A tablespoon.

My grandmother would carefully scrape the spoon down the fillet, removing the flesh and pick off any stray bones. By the time she had finished, there would be just the skin left on the chopping board.

The basin of fish meat would be chopped up fine. A little tapioca starch would go in and the vigorous stirring began, always in one direction. She would sprinkle brine onto the mixture, judging only through touch when the fish paste was ready.

Wetting her hands, she would start forming fish balls and patties, dropping them into salted water to keep their shape.

Her fish balls were always perfect, savory and so bouncy they were a pleasure to bite into.

Nothing was ever wasted. The bones of the fish were fried and made into sweet fish stock, and the skin carefully air dried, dusted with flour and deep fried as a treat.