Chinese Fish Head Soup
This is a very flavorful soup you can make with an entire fish's head! Remember there is a lot of bones in fish head, so make sure to get a big one so you have more meat in the soup.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fish head
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ¼ cup Chinese cooking wine
- 5 slices ginger
- 4 scallions (cut into 4-inch sticks)
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch MSG (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your broiler to 500°F and set the rack in the middle position.
- Pat the fish head dry and brush both sides with a bit of oil. Place on a roasting rack with tinfoil lining the bottom of the pan.
- Roast for 3-5 minutes on each side until brown and some parts are beginning to char.
- Transfer the fish head to a large soup pot.
- Add the Chinese cooking wine, ginger, scallions, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce, salt, sugar, black pepper, MSG, and 10 cups of water. It's okay if the fish head is sticking out of the water.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes, I usually use some tongs to break the head in half so that I can fully submerge it in the water.
- Remove the fish head and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, I like to taste the soup. If it's bland, I will bring the soup to a boil and let some of the water evaporate to concentrate the flavor.
- When the fish is cooled, use your hands to pick the meat from the bones. Everything except the bones and gills are edible!
- Add the meat back to the soup. Taste again and adjust the salt as needed. Add some thinly sliced scallions and enjoy!