The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

"Sister Cao'er, what are we doing today?" Li Xiaoyu asked when she arrived this morning, noticing that Shen Cao had bought a lot of fish again.

The fish and shrimp she prepared while making the meat sauce had been frozen in the ice cellar but hadn't been used.

She watched as Shen Cao took the fish and shrimp out of the refrigerator and asked.

Looking at the two large basins of shrimp and two large basins of fish in the kitchen, Shen Cao said, "Today I'll teach you how to make a delicious snack."

"Fish balls with fillings and shrimp balls."

Li Xiaoyu had never heard of it before. Although she was puzzled, she knew that if Sister Cao'er said it was delicious, it must be very delicious.

Shen Cao smiled and directed Li Xiaoyu to carry the two basins of shrimp into the yard.

She also took two empty basins.

Shen Wan, Shen Qing, and Xiao Qi also came to the kitchen to help.

Shen Cao instructed them to bring small stools and sit down. He then peeled the shrimp, which had already been deveined, and put all the shrimp meat into a clean small bowl.

Shen Cao then took Li Xiaoyu to process the sea fish.

"Look, first cut the fish in half, then use a spoon to scrape the fish meat off the fish."

Shen Cao put the scraped fish meat into a clean bowl.

"Sea fish generally have fewer bones, so you can use them directly after scraping them off."

Li Xiaoyu nodded, took a cleaned fish from the basin, and scraped the fish meat off the bone, just like Shen Cao did.

I wasn't very familiar with it the first time, so I was shoveling the floor rather slowly.

The second and third scrapings became faster and faster, and the fish meat was scraped off more and more cleanly, even leaving the fish skin intact.

"Separate the scraped fish skin from the fish bones."

"Master, why do we have to separate?"

Li Xiaoyu was puzzled. She thought that after the fish meat was scraped clean, only the bones and skin were left, so it was better to give it to the dog.

"The fish bones can be used to make soup, and as for the fish skin, it would be great to make crispy fried fish skin."

"Master, you are amazing."

It took the two of them half an hour to finally clean the two basins of fish.

"Alright, let's make fish balls and shrimp balls first today."

By the time they finished processing the fish, the people outside had also finished peeling the shrimp.

Since there was no meat grinder available, Shen Cao thought of using a stone mill and stone mortar to grind soybeans and make shrimp and fish into shrimp paste and fish paste.

Believe it or not, the fish paste pounded with a stone mortar didn't need any extra kneading from her; it was already elastic.

While pounding the fish paste, she added scallion and ginger water, eggs, a small amount of sweet potato starch, and some seasonings.

The pounded fish paste was very fine, much better than when she chopped it with a kitchen knife.

Since shrimp meat isn't as finely ground as fish meat, she first ground it with a stone mill. Originally, she planned to use the stone mill to make shrimp paste and the stone mortar to make fish paste.

But the fish paste worked so well that she decided to combine it with other ingredients.

First, grind the shrimp meat into minced meat using a stone mill, and then pound it into a paste using a stone mortar.

Whenever Shen Cao cooks, Lai Cai in the family is the happiest.

Right now, it's moving back and forth between the stone mortar and the stone mill.

It rushes over and eats any meat that falls to the ground immediately.

Its tail wagged non-stop all afternoon.

Having prepared the shrimp and fish paste, Shen Cao was ready to start making meatballs.

She also prepared some minced pork; the best thing about stuffed fish balls is that they're so juicy and flavorful with just one bite.

Therefore, the pork filling she prepared was on the fatty side.

Find two large pots and fill them halfway with water.

Shen Caoxian demonstrated how to make fish balls.

She put one hand into the bowl of fish paste, grabbed a handful of paste, squeezed it twice, then scooped it out with a spoon and put it into the pot of water.

A round little dumpling appeared in the basin.

"Wow, Master, slow down!" Before Li Xiaoyu could even see clearly, Shen Cao had already made a dumpling.

Shen Cao slowed down.

"First, grab a handful of minced meat, shape it a few times in your palm, using the space between your thumb and forefinger to shape it until it feels round, then use a spoon to scoop it out."

"It's actually very simple. Just try it out and you'll get the hang of it after a few tries."

Li Xiaoyu also followed Shen Cao's example and slowly learned how to squeeze out meatballs.

She quickly mastered the trick, and the balls she squeezed out were not only round but also uniform in size.

Seeing that Li Xiaoyu had already learned how, Shen Cao went to the side to squeeze out fish balls with fillings.

Unlike shrimp balls, stuffed fish balls also have a filling.

This is quite difficult; Shen Cao plans to teach her again next time.

Shen Cao grabbed a handful of minced fish with his left hand, tidied it up in his hand a couple of times, and then squeezed out a little bit of minced fish from between his thumb and forefinger.

Then she pressed down with her right thumb to make a gap, and then put in the seasoned minced pork.

Finally, squeeze hard again, and the minced pork is fully wrapped inside the minced fish.

With a spoonful of scooping, a plump, white fish ball with filling is ready.

Shen Cao skillfully squeezed out the stuffed fish balls.

Soon, the pot was full.

After Shen Cao finished making the stuffed fish balls, Li Xiaoyu's shrimp balls were almost done as well.

Two large pots, one filled with plump, white fish balls stuffed with filling.

One pot contained shrimp balls that were a mix of green and red.

Slowly simmer the meatballs over low heat.

The meatballs, which were originally at the bottom of the water, slowly cooked as they were heated.

The stuffed fish balls are white and plump, while the shrimp balls turn pink after being heated, making them look much better than the white stuffed fish balls.

It's done when all the meatballs float to the surface.

As the water boils, the white fish balls and pink shrimp balls also boil.

It looks like they're dancing together.

Shen Cao looked at the meatballs in the pot with great joy; it was a success.

You know, she used to love eating all kinds of meatballs when she ate hot pot.

There's no time to cook hot pot today, so I'll just have a bowl of fish balls to satisfy my craving.

She added a little bit of mixed oil, dried shrimp, seaweed, pepper, salt, cilantro, and chopped celery to the bottom of the bowl.

Ladle a spoonful of the broth from the pot and stir it thoroughly with chopsticks.

The aroma of cilantro and celery was fully released the moment the hot soup was poured into the bowl.

The aroma hits your nose, refreshing with a hint of sweetness.

Then scoop half fish balls and half shrimp balls into the bowl.

A bowl of fragrant fish balls is ready.

Shen Cao encouraged Li Xiaoyu to try it herself, following her steps.

He then quietly ate the fish balls in his bowl.

I took a bite of the fish ball; perhaps because I hadn't eaten it in a long time, I had almost forgotten what it was like.

With one bite, the pork fat inside the fish ball, heated by the heat, turns into a broth that splatters out, a mixture of meat juice and pork fat.

It was so hot that she quickly let go of her mouth.

The fish balls rolled into the bowl, and the filling inside leaked out.

The plump white fish balls are filled with a dark brown filling, and the filling still has some broth oozing out.

It looks incredibly tempting.

Having learned her lesson from the first bite, Shen Cao obediently picked up the spoon, took a small bite, and let the soup in the middle flow onto the spoon to cool it down.

Then, take a bite and put the soup and fish ball into your mouth together.

Mmm, delicious! It has the sweetness of fish and the savory flavor of pork; it's the taste of my memories.

Unlike fish balls, which are softer, shrimp balls made from fresh shrimp are more bouncy and chewy.

Fish balls with fillings are savory and fragrant, while shrimp balls are sweet and fragrant; each has its own unique appeal.