Steamed Fish Head with Fermented Black Beans 豉汁蒸鱼头

Recently, I wrote an article for Plan A Magazine for a guide on stocking your fridge and eating well in the time of this pandemic. Fish heads are underrated and so good. It’s funny how Americans tend to love really rich and fatty things like pork belly, bacon, short ribs, and for high end sushi, otoro. Fish heads should be a natural fit since there’s just a lot of fat around there. Besides the obvious cheeks, some of my other favorite parts of the head are the eyes, top of the head (lot of fat there), brains (basically fat), lower jaw, and tongue. Oh well, they’re just going to miss out on the good stuff.

Picking fish heads isn’t too hard. Generally, if you know your fishmonger and ask how fresh they are, they can be a trusted source. At a general grocery store, buy them from places that a lot of people shop at. It’s more likely that they will sell more and keep them moving with a fresh supply.

Here’s a much more detailed guide on how to select fish heads. These guides show the easiest to most difficult ways in my opinion to determine how fresh a fish is. If possible, use as many of these clues of course.

Eyes: Look for shiny, plump, and transparent eyes. If they are still clear, but a little flattened, then it means the fish is probably okay, but you should eat it soon already.

Gills: If the gills are intact, look at the color and try to smell them. They shouldn’t be fishy smelling and be a deep red color. If they are somewhat grey-ish it means the fish head isn’t too fresh and while this can still be eaten (I’d recommend same day), they are not optimal. If they start to taken on a milky color, then it’s just old. Avoid at all costs. One tricky thing with smelling the gills can depend on how they are stored. Some places leave fish heads in large pile and the fishiness smell from older ones in the group can get mixed in. Other places might have them more separated so it is easier to tell.

Feel: This is the trickiest if you don’t handle fish. But gently pressing them can be a guide on how fresh fish can be and this can be applied to not just fish heads, but to fillets and whole fish. Depending on the kind of fish, it has an average suppleness or softness to the flesh. One it starts to get too soft, it means it’s getting old too. That’s because after the fish dies and rigor mortis sets in, the flesh stiffens a little from the moment it dies. But over time, as the effects of rigor mortis wanes, the flesh will begin to soften.

豉汁蒸鱼头 is really a home style dish. There’s a little bit of sauce that naturally gets made from the steaming. You can leave the head whole or cut it up into pieces. I don’t think it matters too much. Even when sharing, it can be taken apart really easily with chopsticks. I used salmon heads cause I like them a lot. This of course can be done with other fish heads and you just need to adjust the amount of seasoning and cooking time to the amount and relative size of the pieces that you are steaming.

Recipe:

1/2 Salmon head
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp 豆豉 fermented black beans
About 1 /2 tsp soy sauce
About 3/4 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Pinch of chicken bouillon (optional)
1 tsp cornstarch
Neutral oil
Green onions, thinly sliced (optional, garnish)

Rinse the salmon head under cold water and using your hands to gently rub all surfaces of it. This helps remove some of the oxidized fat that makes the fishy smell. Cut into pieces if you want to and set aside.

Soak the 豆豉 fermented black beans in a few minute and rinse. Lightly crush or coarsely chop and set aside in a bowl. Peel and lightly crush the garlic cloves and roughly chop them. Add them to the bow as well.

In the bowl with 豆豉 fermented black beans and garlic, add the soy sauce, sugar, salt, chicken bouillon (optional), cornstarch, and a drizzle of neutral oil. Mix to combine.

In a large pot or wok, set over medium high heat and set a steaming rack in it.

Meanwhile, take 豆豉 fermented black beans and garlic mixture and rub it on the brain side of the fish head. Rub some of the mixture on the skin side as well and place this on a plate. Add any remaining 豆豉 fermented black beans and garlic mixture over it and steam for about 10 minutes.

While the fish is steaming, wash and thinly slice some green onions. In the last 30 seconds of steaming the fish, add the green onions and cover.

Enjoy immediately and this is best eaten in the same meal.