Milky fish broth

Ingredientsserves 6

Equipment

• A wok or a large frying pan for the fish head, and a stockpot of 5 litres or more
• A second pot of water already at the boil, ready the moment the fish is fried
• A fine sieve: the bones are small, and the broth must be strained

How the time splits

1. 10 minClean the fish head, take out the gills, pat it dryhands on
2. 10 minFry it golden on both sideshands on
3. 30 minBoiling water on, a hard boil until it turns milkyhands off
4. 10 minStrain, add the tofu, seasonhands on

Method

1. Split the fish head, pull out the gills and scrape away the black membrane from the throat and belly, then rinse; chop the frame if you have one. Pat the head and bones completely dry with kitchen paper: wet fish sticks to the pan and never browns.
2. Bring 3 litres of water to the boil in another pot and keep it at a rolling boil. The broth turns white because the water is boiling; pour cold water onto hot fish and the broth stays clear and smells fishy.
3. Heat the wok before the oil goes in, lay the head and bones flat and fry over a medium flame for four or five minutes without moving them, until the underside is golden and they slide when pushed. Turn and brown the other side. If you are using dried flounder, toast it in the wok now as well.
4. Move the fish to the stockpot and pour on the boiling water, standing back from the spitting oil. Add the ginger and the cracked peppercorns and keep it at a hard, rolling boil for ten minutes, when it turns milky white; then boil it over a medium-high flame for another twenty minutes.
5. Strain it through a fine sieve. The bones are small and must all come out, or someone at the table will catch one in the throat. Pick the meat off the head and return it to the broth.
6. Pour the broth into the hotpot, add the tofu, and taste before you salt it. Scatter the coriander and spring onion over just before it goes to the table.
7. At the table the broth reduces and thickens. Top it up with boiling water or unsalted stock, never more salt, and after every top-up wait for a full boil before raw food goes in.

The short route

• Boxed fish stock from the supermarket, let down with half as much boiling water, with a few slices of ginger and the tofu; bring it to the boil and it is ready.
• For a milky broth in a hurry, fry one fish head, boil it hard in boiling water for twenty minutes, strain, and stretch it with boxed fish stock.

What goes in this pot

• Fish slices: eat them as soon as they turn white, about a minute
• Fish paste: scraped in by the spoonful; a minute more once it floats
• Clams: done when they open; any that stay shut are thrown away
• Prawns: done when red and curled
• Tofu and dried beancurd sticks: in early, to soak up the broth
• Lettuce and mustard greens: last, eaten as soon as they wilt
• Rice vermicelli: to finish, soaking up the last of the broth

What to put in, and for how long ›

The sauce plate

Ginger soyGarlic soyChilli soy

Safe at the table

• Indoors, an induction plate or an electric hotpot is the safe choice. Australia’s gas safety regulators say butane cartridge stoves are for outdoor use only, because of the risk of carbon monoxide. If you do use one indoors, as Hong Kong homes do, keep it well ventilated, and never in a small or closed-up room.
• With a portable gas stove, never use a pot wider than the pot stand, about 20 cm at most unless the maker’s instructions allow more, and never one that reaches over the canister compartment. Never put two stoves side by side, and never leave one burning.
• Fit and remove the canister away from any flame or heat, with its notch facing up. Check for leaks with soapy water first, and do not use a stove that leaks or is damaged. Never put the stove on another cooker (an induction plate especially) or on anything hot, and put nothing between stove and pot that the maker did not supply: no foil, no extra stand.
• Buy a stove certified for Australia, set it on a level surface that will not burn, never on glass, and do not run it longer than the maker’s instructions allow. Keep sprays, lighters and paper well away. When you finish, turn it off, take the canister out and store it somewhere cool, dry and ventilated, never in a car or in the sun.
• Keep raw and cooked apart: use a separate pair of chopsticks or a slotted spoon for raw meat and seafood, and never eat from them.
• After topping the pot up, wait for it to come back to a full boil before anything goes in.
• Chicken, pork, liver and seafood must be cooked through before eating. Sliced pig’s liver needs at least three to five minutes at a full boil; Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety advises at least five minutes for seafood; clams boil until they open and then three to five minutes more, and any that stay shut are thrown away. Enoki boils at least two minutes and is never eaten raw.
• For pregnant women, children under five, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system: beef until no pink remains, and seafood for the full five minutes.
• Raw meat plates stay out no longer than two hours. Leftovers go into the fridge within two hours, keep no more than three days, and are reheated only once, until boiling hot.

Take care

• The broth contains fish; the clams and prawns that go in are molluscs and crustaceans; the soy in the saucers contains soy and wheat (gluten). The bones are small, so always strain the broth, and watch children and older people eating the head meat.
• Boiling water poured onto hot fried fish spits, so stand back as you pour. Wash your hands and the board after handling raw fish. At the table, wait for a full boil after every top-up before raw food goes in, and throw away clams that stay shut.

The story

Fish broth is everyday Hong Kong home cooking: fry a fish head or a tail, pour on boiling water, and it boils down to a milky pot with no meat in it at all. As a hotpot base it suits the delicate things best: fish slices, prawns and clams.

Same kind

Clear chicken brothHong Kong satay brothPeppery pork-bone broth

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.