Covid-19 stay-home recipe: Simple steamed fish head

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At a loss as to what to cook today? Fret not. In this daily series, STFood Online Editor Hedy Khoo features nourishing recipes you can whip up during the circuit breaker period

Fish head curry is not the only way to enjoy this part of the fish that is truly for fish lovers.

 

I once ate steamed fish head at a zi char stall that used an ang ko li (red snapper) fish head.

 

You could say it was love at first taste. I was taken by the simplicity and clean flavours of the dish.

 

I love fish head and have cooked it in various ways, but it had never occurred to me to steam it Teochew-style.

 

For this recipe, I went with my favourite snapper - emperor red snapper, which is known as ang sai in Hokkien. It is considered a premium fish.

 

When you eat out, a standard order at a zi char stall gets you only half a fish head and you are not likely to get this premium choice of fish.

 

But you don't have to be fussy about the type of red snapper. This recipe will work with other red snappers or groupers.

 

The recipe works with other parts of the fish too, say, the tail, if you are not a fish head lover. Those who don't like picking through bones and prefer to eat the meatier parts can use this recipe to make steamed fish tail.

 

Some purists who are finicky about fish may be outraged at using frozen fish for steaming.

 

In an ideal world, who would not want to eat the freshest fish possible?

 

But even before circuit breaker measures kicked in, the reality is that with busy work schedules, few have time to go to the market to buy fresh produce daily.

 

I find that the real test of your cooking ability is to work with produce that is not necessarily freshly bought from the market.

 

To avoid the annoyance of biting into fish scales, when cleaning, use your knife to gently scrape the skin of the fish to get rid of any fish scales that the fishmonger may have missed out on.

 

This extra step will make for a more enjoyable dining experience.

 

INGREDIENTS

 

• 1 whole fish head (1.3kg before gills are removed), halved
• 1½ tsp of salt
• 2 tsp white rice vinegar
• 200g kiam chye (salted mustard greens), soaked for four hours and rinsed
• 1 tomato (140g), sectioned
• 1/8 tsp of sugar
• 1 umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum)
• 1 Tbs miso paste
• 1 red finger chilli, halved and deseeded
• 2 Tbs Shaoxing wine
• 10g spring onion
• 10g coriander

 

METHOD

 

1. Rub 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp vinegar all over both halves of the fish head. Leave it for one minute then rinse the fish head. Set aside.

 

2. Separate the leaves of the salted mustard greens.

 

3. Take a heat-proof dish and arrange the salted mustard green leaves in a layer.

 

4. Rub the remaining salt all over both halves of the fish head.

 

5. Stack the two halves of the fish head on the salted mustard greens.

 

6. Place the tomato wedges around the fish head.

 

7. Sprinkle the sugar over the fish.

 

8. Tear the umeboshi into two and place it at the side of the fish head.

 

9. Smear the miso paste on the fish head and place the red chilli on top. Set aside.

 

10. Bring water to a boil over high heat in a wok.

 

11. Steam fish head for 10 minutes.

 

12. Uncover and pour the Shaoxing wine over the fish head.

 

13. Steam for another two minutes. Remove from the wok.

 

14. Garnish with spring onion and coriander.

 

15. Serve immediately.

 

Serves four to six

 

Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.

 

 

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