White Fish Stock

Bai Yu Tang (白鱼汤)

This milky white fish stock is packed with gelatin and nutrients without any unpleasant fishy aroma – the pure creamy stock perfect for enhancing fish dishes or as a base for soup.

This White Fish Stock is an excellent way to enhance soupy fish dishes such as Spicy Boiled Fish (水煮鱼). The stock adds gelatin and collagen which enrich the soup base giving it not only better texture, but a deeper flavor.

The recipe given here is actually a modified version of Snakehead Fish Soup (乌鱼汤), in which a type fish called a snakehead is used to make a creamy white soup. However, any bony fish can be used for this recipe. I prefer to use a large fish head because it’s quick and easy to prepare. You can, instead, use an entire fish, but you will need to scale it, clean it, and fillet it – this will add quite a bit of time to your preparation. If you are using a whole fish, set the fillets aside for another dish or slice them thinly to be added to the soup after the stock is complete. Use only the spine, head, fins, and tail for making the stock.

To achieve that perfect milky white color, the most important step is frying the fish before boiling it. The frying concentrates the flavor and alters it slightly, removing any remaining unpleasant fishiness. (The washing process will have already removed most of those strong flavors, so after frying, the fish will have a mellow flavor). After frying the fish, you will need to add about 3 liters of water. Use boiling water and you’ll save yourself some time, as the Fish Stock will whiten faster. Regardless, I tend to boil the stock until it reduces to about 2 liters so that I’m left with a creamy white stock with the consistency of milk.

While the fish pieces are boiling in the stock, it’s going to look quite ugly – little bits of fish meat and bones floating around. But be patient and once the stock has reached your desired consistency, thoroughly strain out all of the bones and leftover scraps of fish. DO NOT discard these immediately. Use the back of a ladle to press firmly against the debris in the wire strainer to squeeze out every last drop of stock. This step is crucial because the stock clinging to this debris is going to be the most concentrated and flavorful.

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Total Time: 20 min

Serving: 4 people

Ingredients

1 – 2 large Fish Heads (about 500 grams)

2 Tbsp. Salt

Aromatics
2-inch block of Ginger
2 stalks of Small Scallion (小葱)

Peanut Oil

Directions

1.) Cut the Fish Head in half lengthwise. Remove any remaining organs, gills, and teeth, scraping the inside and outside of the fish clean – make sure there are no scales or bits of mucus remaining. Cut each half again lengthwise creating 4 long equally-sized strips. Cut these strips into 4-inch-long pieces.

2.) Place the Fish pieces in a large bowl, add the salt, and fill the bowl with water. Use your hand to massage the pieces in the water to remove any unpleasantness within the Fish. Drain the water, refill the bowl with water, and then drain again, repeating until the water runs clear.

3.) Slice the Ginger and cut the Scallion into 4-inch-long pieces.

4.) Heat a seasoned wok on medium high heat and add 1/2 cup of Peanut Oil. Add the Fish and fry on one layer for about 1 minute without turning the pieces over. Instead, gently swirl the frying pieces around the bottom of the wok from time to time, preventing them from sticking.

5.) After one minute, add half of the Ginger slices and gently toss or flip the Fish pieces onto their other side. Cook on this side another minute. Then, begin to gently stir-fry the Fish for about 1 to 2 minutes until the pieces are golden and the bones are a little brown.

(The cooking times for this step can vary quite a bit so use your eyes and nose. Your goal is to sear the Fish on each side and then gently stir-fry it until golden brown).

6.) Use the back of a ladle or large cooking spoon to smash and break apart the Fish pieces as you continue to stir-fry for about 1 minute, increasing the heat to high halfway through this cooking process.

(If you added the right amount of Oil, it should be mostly absorbed by the Fish. If you added too little, the Fish will burn easily at this stage. So, it’s better to add slightly more than not enough).

7.) Add 3 liters of boiling water, the remaining Ginger Slices, and the Scallion. Bring the soup to a boil, and once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium and skim off any foamy scum on the surface.

(You can add cold water instead of boiling water, but the soup will not whiten quite as fast and will take longer to boil and reduce like in the next step. However, the stock will still be able to reach this white stage after about 5 to 10 minutes of boiling).

8.) Boil the soup on medium for about 4 to 5 minutes until creamy white and then use a wire strainer to scoop out all of the bones. Use the back of ladle to press against the bones and meat in the sieve and squeeze out any soup remaining inside them.

9.) The stock is now finished, but if you would like to convert it into a soup, you can add thin slices of fish (like the ones used in Spicy Boiled Fish), Chinese vermicelli, tofu (silken or firm), white radish, or taro – boiling the ingredients until fully cooked. For a soup, definitely add Salt and White Pepper to taste as well as some jujube and goji berries for added flavor. These seasonings are not recommended if preparing this as a stock for other dishes.

 

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