Milky White Fish and Tofu Soup 拆魚豆腐羹

Check this soup out!  This milky white, delicate and nourishing soup is made from nothing but fish and its bones!  A famous kind of soup which people murmur about in hushed tones, in awe of the whiteness of the soup and the culinary feats that are required to achieve that pure and awesome whiteness.  

Well, sorry to those folks and yet hurrah for them as well, cuz I'm here to say that this milky white soup ain't so hard to achieve after all, if you know how to go about it!  

No added milk, no added soup stock, just need some fresh fish and fish bones and you're well on your way to making a totally fabulous, milky white, Fish and Tofu Soup 拆魚豆腐羹, that not only is a beautiful creamy white but also tastes out of this work yummilicious!  (And it's the best thing ever for when you're feeling under the weather!)

The secret, naturally, is in the bones.  Fish bones that is.  That's the first part of the ancient Chinese secret to milky white soup.  I've no idea at all why this works but it really does.  This fish soup is made with the grass carp fish, or 鯇魚, usually the tail of the fish.  

If you want really white soup, the more bones the merrier, so ask your fish monger for as many extra fish bone bits as you can. 

The fish is pan fried until golden brown.  This is absolutely necessary to the process.  Again I don't know why.  Honestly it seems a bit counter intuitive.  But if you don't fry it golden the fish soup won't turn milky white.  

Go figure...maybe it's just ancient Chinese magic...

Once the fish is fried golden brown it's time to get the fish meat off the bones.  Remove the skin and discard.  Use a fork or your fingers (I found fingers more efficient) and remove as much of the meat as possible.  We'll be putting all these delicious bits of fish meat back into the soup later.  

Now take all the bones and pan fried those puppies again until a golden brown all around.   

And here's the second part of the ancient Chinese secret to milky white fish soup:  when you add water to the pot to make the soup, make sure it's boiling hot water.  

My hubby 老公 figured this out and, no, I've no idea why it works, but this tip will make your soup super milky white!  Once you've completed these steps you will see your soup turn an opaque white...magically delicious!  

The addition of the few remaining ingredients, the mushrooms, tofu and fish meat, and a quick stir in of a bit of starch to thicken up the soup slightly and your lovely milky white fish soup is ready for the table.  So you see, mystical milky fish soup is not so hard after all.  

Alright, enough talk of ancient Chinese secrets...go make some milky white fish soup already!  

Milky White Fish and Tofu Soup
拆魚豆腐羹
(adapted from Shunde Home Cooking by 陳夢因)
Prep time: 5 mins, except shroom soak time   Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 3 dried shitake mushrooms 冬菇
• 1 carp tail 鯇魚尾
• 3 slices ginger
• 6 cups boiling water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 soft tofu 300g, sliced to 1" cubes
• 1 tbsp potato starch
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped roughly
• 1/4-1/2 tsp white pepper

Directions:

Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water just to cover for at least an hour or until soft .  When the mushroom is soft, remove the stem and slice into very thin slices.  

Wash and dry carp with kitchen paper as well as you can.  

Add 1-2 tbsp oil into a hot wok, add in ginger and stir a little until fragrance is released.  Add in the fish and let fry over medium high heat until golden brown.  Flip over and repeat on other side.  Remove from pan and let cool.  

When cool enough to handle, use a fork (or your fingers) to remove all the fish meat from the bones and break into small flakes, discarding the skin and setting aside the bones.  

Add a tbsp of oil into hot wok, add in the now meatless fish bones and fry again until golden brown on both sides.  

Add in boiling water and turn up the heat to high.  When water reboils cover, turn heat down and simmer for 20 mins.  Pour soup thru a strainer to remove the bones, then pour back into pot.  Add in mushrooms and salt and bring the soup back to a boil.  Add in cubed tofu and fish meat and bring back to a simmer for 2 mins. 

Add a bit of water to corn starch, stir to dissolve the starch and add to soup, stirring in gently.  Remove from heat, sprinkle on cilantro and white pepper and serve hot.  Enjoy!

Fishilicious Treats at The Hong Kong Cookery:

Fish Tail Rice Soup 魚尾泡飯湯

Oil Poached Salmon

Sichuan Spicy Fish Stew 水煮魚

Stir Fry King 小炒皇

Sichuan Fish w/ Pickled Mustard 酸菜魚

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