Squid Balls Recipe

IMAGE Bianca Laxamana

Street food was catapulted to popularity a few years ago but in reality, anyone who walks the streets of their neighborhoods might find street vendors plying their food. One of the most popular is the fish ball vendor who, surprise, surprise, hawks more food than just fish balls. 

What is Squid Balls? 

Apart from the popular and original fish balls, the street vendor may also offer you squid balls, too, which are just as famous and arguably just as delicious as the fish version. These are just like fish balls but instead of being just made with fish, these also have squid or pusit in them.

These balls are hawked on street corners on wheeled pushcarts and deep-fried on the spot for hungry pedestrians to spear with bamboo sticks with little cups used to dunk into the sauces available. These snack balls have such a cult following that mall stalls (and even posh establishments that wish to cater to those who love the unique taste of these snacks) also offer these delicious balls on their menus. 

(In case you're wondering, beyond your street vendor, these balls can be found and bought from supermarkets and palengkes, frozen or fresh in packs, and are easy to cook if you're not looking to make them from scratch.) 

How to Serve Squid Balls 

If you make squid balls, don't forget to serve this the only (and best!) way: mimicking the street vendors! Make a homemade fish ball sauce that you too can tweak to be sweet and/or spicy plus the spiced vinegar, too. 

Need more reasons to make squid balls? You can even serve these balls as a topping for a delicious pancit canton or a pancit lomi meal or an easy noodle soup. 

How to Make Squid Balls 

Squid is the necessary ingredient here to deliver the taste of the seafood but you also need fish fillets. The fish fillet makes up the bulk of the seafood of this recipe so you can make this affordable to make in big batches. 

It's actually easy to make once you have the ingredients and the kitchen appliance to process it. You can use a The fish and squid are pureed together with the rest of the dry ingredients, including the seasonings. The kitchen appliance to help you do this with relative ease is a food processor, but a food chopper or even a blender can help you turn these ingredients into a paste as well. 

The chilled paste is then portioned into balls, boiled, and then cooled. These can then be stored in the freezer for future frying when the craving strikes or cooked immediately in hot oil. 

Tip to Make Delicious Squid Balls 

 

Squid balls are just as famous-and delicious!-as the fish version.

Photo by Bianca Laxamana

Squid balls are naturally tasty but you can always make these extra delicious and flavorful if you truly wanted to. There are two ways to do this: by adding more seasonings into the paste before it's cooked or by serving it with a sauce that's not your usual fish ball sauce. 

1 Add other seasonings and ingredients to the paste. 

Why not try adding spices such as cumin, curry powder, and coriander to make a Middle Eastern-tasting squid ball? Add bits of cooked vegetables into the paste to give it a veggie twist. Want to truly make a different kind of squid ball? Why not stuff them with cubed cheese so the moment you take a bite, you get a hit of creamy salty cheese, too? 

2 Make a delicious sauce. 

The fish ball sauce and vinegar combo can get boring so you may want to serve these with another kind of sauce. Try a honey mustard sauce, a savory garlic mayonnaise, or even a curry sauce to give your squid balls more depth of flavor beyond the ball itself. 

How to Store Squid Balls 

Since these balls are already cooked, squid balls are best stored in plastic packs with the air removed such as in resealable bags or vacuum-sealed packs. These can then be kept frozen until ready to deep fry. The vacuum keeps the food fresher longer and keeps microbes naturally found in the air we breathe at a minimum. This packing technique will help these seafood-based balls not spoil before you're ready to cook and eat them. 

Watch: Squid Balls Recipe 

Squid Balls Recipe