I’ve been saying it for a minute now about protecting your fish heads, collars, and frames for soup. All these components are all loaded with an excellent quantity of meat and a ton of taste so it truly is a waste simply to toss them out after you’re taking the fillets off of a fish. So I’ll present you one in every of my favourite recipes for cooking up what some anglers take into account to be waste and scraps, Jiri – Korean Clear Fish Head Soup. At present I’m utilizing the top, collar, and body of a vermillion snapper I caught fishing off of Destin, however this recipe works with just about any white-fleshed saltwater fish, although there are exceptions I wouldn’t use like Snook. Additionally whereas I haven’t used freshwater species for Jiri I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with any of fashionable freshwater species in North America.
Very first thing with making fish head soup there’s a little prep with regards to the top and body of the fish. Make you take away all of the scales off the fish the place doable. After descaling the body and head, trim off all of the fins and scrub out any of the blood you may from the fish. Leaving an excessive amount of blood with make your soup a bit darker in shade and require you to skim it much more as you prepare dinner it.
Korean Fish Head Soup – Jiri Elements
- Fish Head and Body – Ideally from chicken saltwater fish
- 1 pound Korean Radish – Daikon works as properly
- 2 medium Onions
- 1 Jalapeno
- 3 Inexperienced Onions
- Watercress – Minari (Water Dropwart) if you’ll find it
- 3 inch lengthy piece Dried Kombu Seaweed
- 1 tbsp Hon Dashi
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- Salt & Pepper to style
The very first thing it is advisable do is get your Korean radish and peel it and quarter it. Then slice it into 1/4 inch thick items. Whereas doing that put about 4 quarts of water right into a pot then put it on excessive warmth. Add your Hon Dashi, Radish chunks, and Dried Kombu into the pot. Deliver the water to a boil then instantly cut back the warmth all the way down to medium low and let the pot simmer.
Whereas the pot is simmering, begin prepping your different greens. Lower the onions in half then slice them into 1/2 inch thick slices. The inexperienced onions you need them reduce into 2-inch lengthy items, and the jalapeno into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Now that your greens are all prepped, take away the kombu from the pot after it has simmered for quarter-hour. You may maintain the kombu and slice it skinny as a garnish for the soup or simply throw it out.
Subsequent, add the fish head and body to the pot together with the sliced onions, minced garlic, and mirin. The mirin will add to the flavour of the soup whereas eradicating any off fishy style as properly. Increase the temp again as much as medium and let it prepare dinner for about quarter-hour to start out cooking all of the flavors out from the fish head and bones.
As you let the pot boil, be certain to take a ladle and begin skimming out and foam and scum from the highest of the pot because it cooks. The scum is free proteins and oils from the fish that foams up because it boils, whereas it’s innocent it makes the ultimate product a much less clear-looking soup. It additionally makes for a bit greasier mouth really feel as properly, so don’t skip skimming the fish head soup.
After you let the soup boil for 10 minutes add within the jalapeno slices into the soup, alter to your style and the way spicy the jalapeno is. Don’t simply throw in the entire thing if it’s a extremely sizzling pepper. Let the jalapeno prepare dinner within the soup for an additional 10 minutes and add salt and pepper to style. When you get the fish head soup proper the place you need it, reduce the warmth and add within the inexperienced onions. Combine them in and you’re able to serve your Jiri – Fish head soup.
For plating and serving the Jiri – Fish Head Soup, take your watercress or minari* give it a tough chop, and place it on high of the soup proper. This can add a pleasant recent taste to the soup. Serve it with a pleasant bowl of white rice and a few kimchi. Get pleasure from each the wealthy broth of the soup and choose off the meat from the bones as you eat, typically if the fish is recent sufficient the meat will simply come off the bone and nearly act like a porridge.
*Aspect Notes – If you’ll find Minari at your native Asian/Korean market, that’s the conventional selection to make use of for the garnish with Jiri, however watercress works simply as properly.
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