Recipe: Fish Head Noodles By Chef Martin Yan

This bowl of comforting and flavourful noodles is perfect for the chilly weather

Photos: Asian Food Channel

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 250g dried rice noodles or banh pho
• 1 fish head (500g)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 120g tapioca flour
• 120g rice flour
• Cooking oil for deep-frying
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 960ml chicken broth
• A 3cm long young ginger, sliced thinly
• ½ cup cooking cream or evaporated milk
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
• ¼ cup pickled mustard greens, thinly sliced
• 2 pickled plums
• 6 baby bok choy leaves
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup fried shallots, for garnish

Method

1. Soak the rice noodles in enough water to cover until softened, about 25 minutes. Drain when noodles are softened. In a large pot of boiling water, add the rice noodles and cook until done, about 1 minute. Drain well and set aside.

2. Clean the fish head well, pat dry, cut into large pieces and season with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes.

3. On a plate, combine the tapioca and rice flours. Dredge the fish head pieces in the flour mixture, coating well. In a pan, heat the cooking oil to 180°C over medium-high heat. Fry the fish head pieces until golden and crispy for about 15 minutes. Remove from oil and drain well on paper towels. Set the fried fish pieces aside.

4. In a pot, heat the chicken broth over medium heat. Add the ginger slices and cook until fragrant. Next, add in cooking cream or evaporated milk, fish sauce, rice wine, pickled mustard greens, pickled plums and baby bok choy. Bring to a boil and add in tomatoes, noodles and ½ portion of the fish head then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Then add a few pieces of the fried fish head into the broth, let it cook for a minute or two then place it into a bowl. When ready to serve, arrange the tomatoes, pickled mustard greens, baby bok choy and fish head on top. Garnish with fried shallots.

Chef’s tip: Extra rice wine can be added for flavour

Chef Martin Yan

Martin Yan’s Asian Favorites is a culinary homage to the chef’s travels around Asia, where he shares tricks of the trade and insider knowledge.

With his signature cooking style and affable personality, Chef Yam invites viewers right into his kitchen where he showcases dishes influenced by the places and people he’s visited around the region.

Martin Yan’s Asian Favourites premieres 5 Jan 2017, Thursdays at 9.00pm (SG), 8.00pm (JKT/BKK)