Shrimp Balls (Ebi-shinjo) in Clear Soup

Method9 steps · about 25 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Put all the prepared dashi, light soy sauce (2 tsp), separate two teaspoons soup sake and two-thirds teaspoon soup salt (⅔ tsp) in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, add the four pre-cooked bamboo slices and cook for about one minute. Turn off the heat and keep the soup and bamboo ready.

   Heat bamboo slices in seasoned clear soup · 1 minUses 800 ml prepared bonito dashi stock · 2 tsp light soy sauce · 2 tsp sake · ⅔ tsp salt · 4 slices pre-cooked bamboo shoots

2. 2

   Step 2: Thaw the hanpen in the refrigerator if frozen. Dice the full 60 g cake very finely, then crush it on a board with the side of a knife into a paste-like texture.

   Uses 60 g hanpen fish cake (one small cake)

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Finely mince all the peeled deveined raw prawns, leaving a few tiny pieces for texture. Mix them thoroughly with the mashed hanpen, separate teaspoon ball sake (1 tsp), quarter-teaspoon ginger juice (¼ tsp), corn starch and ball-salt (1 pinch) pinch to make a sticky mixture.

   Uses 150 g raw peeled deveined prawns · All the mashed hanpen · 1 tsp sake · ¼ tsp juice from grated ginger · 1 tbsp cornflour/corn starch · 1 pinch salt for shrimp balls

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Divide the prawn mixture into eight equal portions. Wet your hands with clean water and shape each portion into a ball, making eight balls in total.

   Uses All the mixed prawn paste · A little clean water to wet hands

5. 5

   Step 5: Fill a medium pot with fresh water about ten centimetres deep and bring to a boil. Keep this boiling water separate from the prepared clear soup.

   Uses Enough fresh water for a separate pot about 10 cm deep

6. 6

   Step 6: Lower all eight formed balls into the boiling water one at a time, then maintain a gentle boil.

   Uses All eight formed balls · The prepared boiling pot

7. 7

   Step 7: Once each ball floats, cook it for about two more minutes, continuing until the prawn mixture is opaque and cooked through at the centre. Lift the cooked balls onto a clean plate, leaving the boiling water behind.

   Cook shrimp balls after they float · 2 minUses All eight cooking shrimp balls

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Reheat the prepared clear soup. Put two fully cooked shrimp balls in each of four serving bowls and divide the hot broth equally between them, holding its cooked bamboo slices for garnish.

   Uses Reheat the soup; hold its four bamboo slices for garnish · All eight cooked shrimp balls

9. 9

   Step 9: Wash the four mitsuba sprigs. Add one of the reserved cooked bamboo slices and one mitsuba to each bowl and serve immediately.

   Uses All four prepared soup bowls · All four cooked bamboo slices retained for garnish · 4 mitsuba (note 5)