Arhat Fish Head
Arhat Fish Head is a Fujian soy-braised dish with bighead carp head as the primary ingredient, prepared with supporting ingredients including tofu and winter mushrooms.
Ingredients
Bighead carp fish head (gills removed, washed, and split open without cutting through)
1000 g
Tofu (cut into small dice)
1
Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms (cut into small dice)
Fresh lotus seeds (cut into small dice)
Flat-tip bamboo shoots (cut into small dice)
Winter bamboo shoots (cut into small dice)
Sichuan preserved vegetables (cut into small dice)
Scallion segments
Ginger slices
Shaoxing wine
Soy sauce
Sugar
Salt
Water chestnut starch (wet slurry)
Sesame oil
Clear broth
Lard (for deep-frying the fish head)
about 300 g
Instructions
1
Prepare the fish head
Remove the gills from the fish head, wash it well, and split it open without cutting all the way through.
2
Prepare the filling
Dice the tofu, shiitake mushrooms, fresh lotus seeds, winter bamboo shoots, flat-tip bamboo shoots, and Sichuan preserved vegetables into small pieces. Mix with salt, and pack it into the inside of the fish head.
3
Braise in soy sauce
Heat lard in a wok and deep-fry the stuffed fish head until about half-done, then remove. In the same wok, briefly stir-fry the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, salt, Shaoxing wine, and sugar until fragrant. Return the fish head to the wok, add the clear broth, and cover. First bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to gentle heat and cook through. Discard the scallions and ginger, thicken lightly with the wet water chestnut starch, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.
