What it is
Mixed ball soup (綜合丸湯) is a clear broth with an assortment of balls in it. The usual pair is gongwan (貢丸), firm and springy pork balls, and fish balls. Shops may add shrimp balls or small meat dumplings. Chopped coriander and spring onion go on top. In Taiwan this soup is the most common way to eat pork balls.
Where it came from
The name gongwan comes from Taiwanese kòng-uân (摃丸). Kòng means to pound, the key step in making them. The character 貢, meaning tribute, is a common stand-in because its Mandarin sound is closer. Hsinchu is the city most tied to the pork ball and holds a yearly festival for it. Its pork is not unusual, though. Hsinchu's real contribution was machinery that let makers produce pork balls in quantity. Fish balls follow the local catch. Milkfish balls (虱目魚丸) are a common type in Taiwan, and shark, lizardfish, pike eel and marlin are also used.
How it is made
For gongwan the pork must be very fresh, still warm from slaughter. Rather than simply being minced, it is beaten with wooden sticks or by machine into an elastic paste, usually with some starch. Some makers add cuttlefish for extra bite. The paste is then shaped into balls and cooked. Fish balls start from fish paste beaten in the same way. Tainan shops often use pure milkfish, worked at length for crunch and spring.
How to eat it
This is a side soup rather than a meal. In Tainan it goes with braised pork rice at rice canteens (飯桌仔), where diners add small plates. At fish ball shops you can pick your own mix of fillings, or order the mixed soup (綜合湯) to get everything in one bowl.
Around Taiwan
- Tainan
- Tainan's fish ball shops often use milkfish and serve the balls with fish skin and belly. Fu Tai Table Third Generation (福泰飯桌第三代), which began as a street stall more than 80 years ago, makes its assorted balls fresh every day.
- North
- Hsinchu City is best known for gongwan, largely because its makers moved to machine production, and it holds an annual pork ball festival. Gongwan soup stalls are common in the city's lanes.
