Claypot Fish Head
My wife and I love this zi char place (read: small eatery) located along Purvis Street next to the famous Chin Chin Eating House (which we also like). But we love the claypot fish head there (that is the shop next to Chin Chin) and would make a weekly pilgrimage on Sundays after church.
Each time we had it, we would almost swear by it and stare at each other with glee written all over our faces. That claypot fish head was by far one of the best that we have ever had. The boss was this heavily jowled, grumpy-faced Chinese uncle that didn’t look happy all the time. I think I have never seen him happy before. And his shop looked run down and almost falling apart. But, they served gold in a claypot and as far as we are concerned, nothing else mattered. Most of the times, we would lick the pot clean save for a few bones.
That all changed one Sunday when we went back and realised to our dismay that they had mysteriously shut the business down. No word, no goodbye message. Nothing. It felt like the end of the world. Honestly, we felt betrayed and hurt. How could they do that to us, their loyal customers. Never mind the fact that each time we went there we ordered only their clay pot fish head, we really felt connected when we were there. These days we have become like wandering spirits in search of that elusive clay pot fish head shop, but alas, our efforts have all come to a nought. Needless to say, the rest of the clay pot fish head places that we have come across so far all seem to fall short of that place. Worse still, we totally never got their name nor name card. Something that we regret much till today.
So what’s so special about their clay pot fish head? Firstly, it is not too salty and has little or no MSG (many sick gourmands), I don’t get that dry throaty feeling after eating, which was a clear indication of how much MSG went into the cooking. The thirstier I got, the more MSG went into the cooking, and that irks me to the core. If you are a good cook, you can do the dish without MSG. What’s wrong with salt? The sauce was a thick, not watery mixture of all things wonderful. The fish head was as fresh as the morning dew on periwinkle petals.
Fast forward many unhappy claypot fish head meals later, we stumbled across this gem tucked away like an enclave, wedged in the middle of OG (read: OG stands for Ocean Garments Shopping Mall) at Albert Complex. Located on the second floor of OG, was this place known as 一口未, and they served really delicious clay pot fish head. I snapped a cannot-make-it photo with my cannot-make-it handphone camera below for all to drool. Trust me, it was drool worthy. They used Song Fish (which I don’t really like) but the sauce was exactly like that shop that we used to eat from.
Looks Shiok right?
However, being the perfectionist home-cook that I am, I wanted to make my own clay pot fish head. All these years of wandering around, finding for that perfect clay pot fish head, has somewhat taken its toll on our discriminating palate, and in a sense our taste buds may have been already damaged by the over MSGed meals that we have had.
So here is the result of much tinkering, my very own adapted clay pot fish head recipe. Tweaked to my liking and more importantly, my wife endorses it. She say 90% like the shop at Purvis with a score of 8 out of 10. I hear already chin happy. My version looks more swee than the picture above, and got more liao. Are you ready? Read on.
Updated 16 February 2015
My friend suggested that I do it again and post with photos, and actually I did do it again, and this time around I found that it tastes even better with Red Garoupa Fish Head! So no more Red Snapper for me, but you can still continue to use if you like. I used a Korean Neoflam pot for this because I think it cooked better than the traditional claypot. So maybe you may want to check that out.
Prepared Ingredients
Delicious Fish Head Cooking
Ready to eat, decorated with mini romaine and spring onions
Recipe
Ingredients
800 grams Red Garoupa Fish Head (Split down the middle into two halves) {I buy my fish head from Blk 628 Market at Ang Mo Kio St 61, no regrets! Only $12)
1/2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu
1/2 tbsp Ginger Juice
1/2 tsp White Pepper Powder
3 tbsp Hakka Rice Wine
1 Egg (beaten)
3 tbsp Cornstarch
Olive Oil (for deep frying, you may use Vegetable Oil if you like a cheaper alternative)
1 packet Bean Curd Puff (mini tau pok, cut into diagonals)
1 small Yam (sliced thinly)
$3 worth of Roasted Pork Belly
1 inch Ginger (peeled and sliced thinly)
1 medium Yellow Onion (peeled and sliced thinly)
4-5 dried Shitake Mushrooms (soaked, sliced thinly as well)
1 small can Button Mushrooms (cut into halves)
2 tubes Red Chillies (seeds removed, roughly sliced)
3-4 cups of Chicken Stock
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame Seed Oil
3 stalks of Spring Onions (sliced into 2 inch lengths)
2 clusters of Baby Romaine Lettuce (sliced into half)
Method
1. Marinate the Red Snapper in a ziplock bag with the soy sauce, shao xing hua tiao jiu, white pepper and ginger juice for about 10 minutes (if you have more time, you can marinate longer).
2. Mixed 2 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water and an egg and mix it into a thick creamy batter.
3. Mixed 2 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water and set aside.
4. Heat olive oil over high heat and when it is about ready, dip the red snapper pieces into the batter, and deep fry for about 5-8 minutes. Tip: the more oil you use, the less likely the fish will burn. After frying both sides to a crispy brownish colour, set aside.
5. In another pot (this is where the clay pot magically appears and takes its place), add some oil, and fry the sliced ginger and onions. Fry them until they are softened and fragrant. Add chillies, two types of mushrooms, yam slices, mini tau pok and roasted pork belly, and continue frying. You may turn the heat up high for this part.
6. Add the chicken stock (I bought the packet type of chicken stock, although if you’re hardworking, you can also prepare it from scratch), sesame seed oil, hakka rice wine and oyster sauce.
7. Ensure that the ingredients are cooked fairly well, especially the yam and the tau pok. Then add the fried fish head pieces (whole, no need to cut small) back into the clay pot and simmer over low heat for about 8-10 minutes, constantly stirring to ensure evenness in cooking.
8. Last part, add the spring onions and mini romaine lettuce on top and if need be, add the cornstarch water to thicken the sauce a little. You may also pour the remainder of the egg batter into the pot and give it a good stir. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Bon Appetit!
