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Super Easy Fish Soup with Pickled Mustard （简易酸菜鱼）

 


If you are a fan of hot and sour soup, please give this Szechuan fish soup （酸菜鱼） a try. It is a classic Sichuan dish where the fish is thinly sliced and poached in a rich broth made from stock flavored with fish bone, peppers, ginger, garlic, and pickles.

The first time I’m have it is from a Sichuan restaurant, and the first bite…goodness, it’s mega spicy with fire. The actual way of making this dish is to stir fry the fish bone to make the broth with the pickles, this way you may see that the pickles are attached with some fish fresh which took off from the bone during the stir fry process.

For pickles mustard, there are two types of pickled in the market. One is the salty type, and this is the sour type. In case, the sour type is not available, you might need to adjust the sour taste with vinegar.

Pickled pepper is used in the original recipe to add spice.  However, it isn't accessible where I live.  I therefore substitute dried chilies for it.

Generally, pickled fish is made with river fish. I think many people might not like the fishy smell. I am using red snapper fillets which I am going to make in a simple way. Of course, it is slightly different from Sichuan-style pickled fish, but just keep it simple, not too complicated.

INGREDIENTS

600g red snapper (keep bones for stock)

Some cooking oil

15g ginger

3 pcs dried chilies (deseeded and cut into short lengths)

6 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of spring onions

Some slice chilies

200g of pickled mustard greens (sourish type)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp vinegar (optional)

 

MARINADE (For fish fillets)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

 

SOUP STOCK

1.5L water

Fish bones and fish head

10g sliced ginger



METHODS

1.Deseeded and cut dried chilies into short lengths. Slice the garlic and ginger. Chop the spring onions. Keep the white part aside. Cut the pickles mustard into small pieces.

2. Heat up the wok without oil, pour in the pickles mustard, stir fry to dry up the water in it. Remove for later use.

3. Remove the fish meat, slice it into thin slices, wash it twice with clean water, drain the water, marinade with salt and Shaoxing wine for 20 minutes.

4. In a pot of hot water, add the fish bones with salt and slice ginger. Let it simmer at low heat for 30 minutes. Discard the bones and keep the soup.

5. Heat up the work with some cooking oil, stir fry the slices of ginger, garlic, spring onion (white part) and dried chilies until fragrant and turn golden brown. Add back the pickles mustard green, quickly stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

6. Pour in the fish stock, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and sugar.  You can now add some white vinegar if your soup isn't sour enough.

7. Scoop out pickle mustard and place it at the bottom of a bowl. Add the fish fillets to the wok and cook for about 30 seconds. Once cooked, remove immediately and serve in a large bowl with pickled mustard. Pour the soup into the bowl.

Note: Do not overcook the fish fillets. Overcooked fish fillets in soup can become dry, tough, and lose flavor.

8. Garnish with spring onions and sliced chilies. ENJOY!!

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