:minimalist

Friday, August 13, 2010

 

Fish head. When you take into consideration all the strange animal parts that are eaten around the world, fish head doesn't seem so weird. Except for maybe the eyeballs.

This is a recipe that I tried adapting to a slow cooker because who has time to do something like this after work AND be able to eat dinner at a reasonable hour? The results were acceptable, not quite as tasty as what mom makes, but come on - when is it ever?

$5.99/lb is a sale price. Thus, for $17, you can have almost 3 pounds of fish head! Just in case you were wondering, this comes from only half of the ling cod's head. I don't have a picture of the whole head because I asked the nice man behind the fish counter to chop it up for me (roughly 3 inch pieces).



Wok, oil, ginger.



Fry the pieces of the fish head for a bit on each side, just to firm up the flesh. Don't overcrowd the pot, do it in batches if necessary. Maybe pour in a bit of cooking wine.



I always find the eyes the most disturbing part. I am happy to share the disturbing-ness with you.



While this is going on, get some mushrooms ready. I like to pre-cook dried Shiitakes with some soy sauce and brown sugar to impart extra flavor.



Cut the mushrooms into roughly .25 in. pieces.



At the end, pour a bit of water into the wok and let it boil for awhile. This allows you to (gently) loosen the (tasty) bits that are stuck.



Put the fried pieces, the cut up mushrooms, and all the liquid in the wok (throw the ginger from the wok in also, just for fun) into a slow cooker, add additional water to cover the ingredients (plus an extra 1-2 inches maybe).



Turn it on low and go back to work. At least, that's what I did. Everything up to this point was done during my lunch hour. Factoring in a 7-minute commute each way, that means it took about 45 minutes. I ate lunch in there somewhere, also.

Come home from work. At this point, the fish head has been cooking for about 5 hours, which is more than enough time to turn it into a rich, flavorful soup.

Put everything into a big stockpot.



Add some tofu (previously frozen, and as you can tell by the fact that it's in a glass container, previously cut). Freezing the tofu and then defrosting it gives it a spongy texture. You can avoid this if you don't like that.



Add 粉絲 (previously soaked and cut into 3-5 inch threads, so all that's left to do is throw them in).



Let the tofu and 粉絲 soak up a bit of the moisture and flavor. I'd say maybe 10-15 minutes? Then, fill the pot with Napa cabbage (again, previously cut to save time on the day of).



Put a lid on the pot and let it steam for just a bit, then mix it in after it wilts sufficiently. I would recommend a wooden spoon, because metal will turn everything underneath into mush. Mushy fish head stew is non-ideal. Try to handle it as little as possible on your way to achieving a sufficiently homogeneous mixture. Salt and pepper (preferably white) to taste, I guess. Toss in a little sesame oil if you feel like it's still lacking richness.



Finally, give most of it away to your friends that just had a baby.

Please note that the last step is optional.

This definitely not something I would make often. The amount of preparation is prohibitive, though the ingredients are relatively simple. There are definitely some more complicated variations out there, but I prefer cooking it this way because it doesn't require elaborate sauces. It relies just on the goodness of the flavor in the fish head.

Tips: It is generally accepted that ling cod yields the tastiest results.

Fresher is always better when it comes to fish.

Make sure your wok is hot, otherwise the fish will stick all over the bottom.

Don't cook this for one or two people. Even half of a fish head makes a lot.

A lot of the preparation can be done in advance - washing/cutting things always takes a really long time, so break up the task.

Fish head is a great source of calcium. After cooking (especially if using the slow cooker), the bones are soft enough to chew up and swallow. Is that weird? Maybe that's weird. I do it anyway. Calcium!

When eating, you will undoubtedly encounter parts of the fish head that look... suspicious. Feel free to skip them, but some of the weirdest looking bits are seriously tasty.

Don't watch this video, and certainly don't sing the song in your head (or out loud, for that matter) the whole time you're making this.

bananna 5:56 PM  |