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Tomato, tofu and fish belly soup (grass carp belly)
番茄豆腐魚腩湯（魚腩滾湯）
“The pot Ah Ma keeps for her night owls.”
Ingredientsone pot, serves 4
街市Fish belly· belly is rich and oily, the easiest cut for boiling a milky white soup. In Australia have a fishmonger cut the belly off a whole barramundi, or use a snapper frame; salmon belly is fattier and cheaper but tints the brothabout 300 to 400 g
Method
Pat the fish belly dry, pan-fry it until fragrant on both sides and splash in wine, then add boiling water and hold a hard boil to bring the soup up milky white.
- Pat the fish belly dry and pan-fry it until fragrant on both sides.
- Splash in the wine (灒酒, wine sizzled down the side of the hot pan), add about 1.2 to 1.5 litres of boiling water and hold a hard boil until the soup turns milky white.
- Add the tomatoes, frying them first if you want a richer soup, and the tofu.
- Boil for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt.
Who it suits
- an appetising everyday dinner soup
- the general idea that fish soups nourish yin and moisten the lungs
Who should take care
- Fish belly is on the fatty side, so swap to fish fillet if you are eating light
- People with gout should take care with milky white fish soups
Soup stories
魚腩 fish belly is the soup cut, the piece Hong Kong market fish stalls set aside for family quick-boiled soups and congee, carved off the grass carp for exactly this.
From the same family
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.