Chicken and Shrimp Balls Soup with Silken Tofu

My family has been down with terrible flu these past two weeks, from fever, sore throat, cough, to blocked nose. So our food options are quite limited as I usually forbid any deep fried food and spicy food in our daily intake, and mostly I will cook soup (which is almost every single day), and of course, I have to come up with different kinds of soup recipes.

Not too worry so much because I have some new soup recipes that I want to try anyway, and this was one of it. The soft meatballs with soft silken tofu in light but rich soup were just so comforting for our body. It was so delicious especially if you pair this with a bowl of hot steamed rice.

I added some spices and extra seasonings into the soup, and they really elevated the taste of the soup. I think silken tofu or soft tofu will be best for this soup, and firm tofu will not be so suitable.

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1. 150 gr cold shrimps, without head and shells
2. 200 gr cold chicken tight, no skin and bones
3. 2 garlic
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
6. 1 egg
7. a handful of green onions, cut into 2 cm in length (easier to chop)
8. 2 tbsp tapioca flour
9. 1 tbsp all purpose flour

For the soup:

1. 2 L of water
2. 2 packs of silken tofu, cut into small squares
3. 3 tbsp cooking oil
4. 1 yellow onion, sliced
5. 3 garlic, peeled and crushed
6. 3 slices of ginger
7. 7 cm cinnamon stick
8. 3 cloves
9. a handful of green onions, cut into 2 cm in length

Soup seasonings:

1. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
2. 1 tbsp sesame oil
3. 1 tbsp fish sauce
4. 1 small cube of chicken bouillon
5. 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
6. 1.5 tsp salt, or to taste
7. 1/2 tsp sugar

Other/soup topping:

1. green onions
2. fried garlic

Method:

1. Reheat a pot with cooking oil and add onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, and green onions and stir fry until fragrant and onions are soft
2. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiled, add all seasoning (oyster sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, chicken bouillon, black pepper, salt, and sugar). Stir to mix. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the meatballs
3. Add all ingredients to make meatballs into a food processor and process until smooth and form a paste
4. Using 2 spoons, make small sized meatballs and drop them one by one into the well seasoned boiling water
5. When the meatballs float, add silken tofu and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt and sugar) if necessary
6. Turn off the heat and pour the soup into serving bowls
7. Top with green onions and fried garlic and serve with steamed rice