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Watercress fish soup (quick-boiled)
西洋菜魚片湯（西洋菜滾鰂魚／魚片湯）
“The pot Ah Ma keeps for her night owls.”
Ingredientsone pot, serves 4
街市Fish slices· Fish fillet — barramundi or basa in Australia, 鯇魚 grass carp in Hong Kong; or 1 whole 鰂魚 (鯽魚), pan-fried until fragrant first, splashed with wine and boiled225 g
Method
Ingredients go in only once the water boils. Watercress in a quick-boiled soup gets 10 minutes at most (the dietitian's rule). The fish slices go in last for 1 to 2 minutes and come off the heat the moment they are just cooked.
- Bring the water to the boil, add the ginger slices and let them boil out into a base.
- Add the watercress and cook it for no more than 10 minutes.
- Add the fish slices last and boil 1 to 2 minutes, just until they turn white.
- Season with salt and it is ready.
- 鰂魚 version: pan-fry the fish first, splash in Shaoxing wine, add boiling water, cover and boil for 5 minutes, then add the watercress for 3 minutes.
Who it suits
- feeling heaty with a dry cough
- an everyday soup for autumn and winter when watercress is in season
- modern framing points to eye health and anti-inflammatory value (lutein)
Who should take care
- people with a cold constitution and pregnant women are traditionally advised to keep to a moderate amount and to add ginger
Soup stories
This is the quick-boiled counterpart to the long-simmered 西洋菜陳腎湯, where the greens cook down to shreds. Skypost once ran a chef making 西洋菜滾鰂魚湯 for HK$23 as one soup plus two dishes, the model for a thrifty quick-boil dinner.
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.