309422 Fri Jul 14 21:28:02 -0700 2006 6 2 Los Angeles Area 0 1745516 Has anyone tried the fish balls at 99 Ranch? If so, how are they and how do you prepare and serve them? Fri Jul 14 21:28:02 -0700 2006 10240 Bob Brooks 1 1745524 I've tried them - we added them to a Taiwanese hotpot we were making. I'm not a huge fan - they are more a texture experience than taste experience IMO. But that's purely a personal opinion and you should judge for yourself. Fri Jul 14 21:33:55 -0700 2006 1745516 11023 oro3030 1 1745526 You can either boil them or sometimes deep-fry them. Fri Jul 14 21:34:33 -0700 2006 1745516 11583 ipsedixit 1 1745594 Boiled and served in a hot pot or soup noodle. I have a friend who would not eat them because she says you never know what goes into them. I am ambivalent about it. Fri Jul 14 22:16:01 -0700 2006 1745516 12082 PeterL 1 1745636 I don't particularly like them. They are mostly devoid of flavor. As an alternative, you can get either fish or shrimp paste. You can form it however way you want, and it's easier to sautee them. Some restaurants use them as a filling for bell pepper slices; in the old days, they used a pork mixture. Fri Jul 14 22:45:26 -0700 2006 1745516 17644 raytamsgv 1 1745683 You can put them in hot pot (shabu shabu), or you can also use them in light soups (like daikon soup). I think they also have cuttlefish balls, perhaps in the freezer section, not fresh seafood. I personally prefer the cuttlefish balls as opposed to the fish balls. 99 Ranch also used to make a really large variation of those fish balls. I think it was some type of fish paste on the outside, and the inside was filled with minced meat (pork, maybe) and minced mushroom. I haven't seen it in a while, though. If you can find these, give it a try. Pretty tasty. Fri Jul 14 23:10:26 -0700 2006 1745516 13948 pinkshch 2 1745844 the big ones are fu zhou (aka foo chow) style fish balls. Sat Jul 15 00:39:58 -0700 2006 1745683 12923 modernist