FISH HEAD MEE HOON

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients

fish head/fish meat

rice noodles (mee hoon, or vermicelli)

choy sum

ginger

pickled mustard greens

 chicken stock

pickled plums

salt

green onions

tomatoes

fish sauce

evaporated milk

black pepper

vegetable oil.

Pickled mustard greens

Pickled plums

METHOD

Fry the fish head and fish meat

Slice a fish head into 2 x 3 inch pieces. Ask your fishmonger to do this for you. Clean with water and pat dry. Marinate lightly with salt and pepper.

Add 4 cups of oil to a wok and fry the fish head on all sides until it’s brown and crispy. It will take about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

MAKE SOUP

Cut a handful of choy sum into pieces 3 inches long and set aside.

Chop garnishes: ½ cup worth of salty pickled mustard greens, ½ cup worth of tomato, and 2 green onion. Set aside.

Soak mee hoon in cold water. Set aside.

Heat up a pot and add 1 tbs vegetable oil, a few slices of peeled ginger (about 1 tbs worth), and stir until fragrant.

Cut a medium-sized tomato into quarters lengthwise and add to the pot.

Add 6 cups of chicken stock, 1 cup of salted mustard greens, and 3 mashed pickled plums to the pot. Let it boil over high heat for 10 minutes.

Open the lid, stir, and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove all the cooked vegetables, ginger, and the plum seeds from the pot with a strainer.

Blanch the choy sumin the boiling soup and remove it from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Drain the noodles, add them to the boiling soup. Cook for about 1 minute until softened and then remove from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Add the fried fish heads to the soup and boil for a few minutes. Remove from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Add ¼ cup evaporated milk and fish sauce to taste.

SERVE

Put the cooked noodles into a serving bowl. Add soup and fried fish heads.

Garnish with chopped  tomatoes, pickled mustard green, and green onions.

Serve with the soy sauce mixed with a few of chopped bird’s eye chillies.