Fish Balls & Fish Ball Soup

Clean the fish, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Using a very sharp knife, fillet the fish along the bones from the tail up toward the head; repeat on the other side, and reserve the bones.

With a spoon, scrape the fish meat off the skin from tail upward until all the meat is off; discard the skin and scrape any remaining meat off the bones.

Place all the fish meat on a chopping board and chop with a Chinese cleaver for about 10 minutes.

As the fish becomes sticky, add the salt and white pepper and keep chopping for another 10 minutes until it becomes a bouncy paste — leave some texture rather than a fully smooth purée.

Wet your hands with water, take a tablespoon of paste onto your palm and shape into a ball; repeat with the rest.

In a 5-quart pot, combine the chicken broth, water and reserved fish bones.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer on low-medium for about 20 minutes until the broth is flavorful.

Remove and discard the fish bones, then turn the heat up to high.

Gently drop the fish balls into the soup.

Add the Chinese seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt and white pepper to taste.

When the fish balls float to the top, turn off the heat immediately — don't overcook or they'll turn tough.

Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with garlic oil, shredded lettuce and scallion rings; serve immediately.