Chinese Fish Head Soup
This Chinese Fish Head Soup is a simple recipe you can make in just one hour. I am using one giant fish head (about 3 pounds) that I got at my local Asian market. I didn't have any fish bones, so I added some fish sauce to amp up the oceany flavors. The broth is so rich and flavorful and the meat is tender and soft.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 large fish head (about 3 lbs; grass carp, salmon, or bass grouper)
- ¼ cup shaoxing wine
- 5 slices ginger
- 2 scallions
- 1 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat and fry the fish head until golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes per side. If your butcher cut your fish head into two pieces, you'll have to do this in two batches.
- Deglaze the pan by pouring in the Shaoxing wine. Use a spatula to scrape off any meat or skin stuck to the wok. Add the ginger, green onions, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce, salt, sugar, and 6-8 cups of water. The fish head should be almost completely submerged in the water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 45 minutes. Once the time is up, you can optionally remove the fish heads and pick off the meat and edible parts (like the eyeballs and cartilage). The bones should be discarded but the others can be added back to the soup.
- In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of water. Stir it into the soup and heat it up to thicken. If you want it thicker, make more cornstarch slurry.
- Add the white pepper and then do a taste test for seasoning. Add extra salt, sugar, or fish sauce as needed. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 47gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 1514mgPotassium: 1121mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
Did you make this?Let me know how it was!