This is not your usual clear fish soup sold at foodcourts and hawker centres. The soup has century egg! I came across the recipe from the blog ‘Cuisine Paradise’ and thought it looked quite interesting and at the same time easy enough to prepare. I was glad that I tested the recipe as the soup turned out to be very rich in flavour. The century egg was a nice touch and it didn’t overpower the soup at all.
Okay, I did tweak the recipe a bit to satisfy Yang’s craving for carrots (otherwise I’d get the sad rabbit gaze) and also adjusted the quantity of some ingredients. Below is my version courtesy of the original from Cuisine Paradise. :)
Ingredients (Serves 3-4 persons; if this is going to be a one-dish meal, then 2 persons)
- Tioman fillet (‘sheng yu’) – 300 g, cut into 0.5 cm slices, reserve the bony portion to flavour soup
- Minced pork – 150 g, marinated
- Tomato – 1, cut into 8 wedges
- Carrots – 2 medium sticks, peeled, chop into chunks
- Plain silken tofu (organic is tastier) – 1 tub, cut into bite-sized cubes
- Century egg – 1, de-shelled, cut into 8 wedges
- Ginger – 2 slices
- Spring onion – 1 to 2 bunches, cut into 2-inch lengths
- Coriander leaves – for garnishing, add as desired
- Water – 600 ml (don’t be tempted to add more than this volume unless towards the end of cooking you want a thinner soup)
- Vegetable oil – 1 to 2 tbsp
- Light soy sauce – 2 tsp
- Salt (I’d strongly recommend the use of pan salt. It is so much more flavourful.) – 1/2 tsp
- White ground pepper – dashes
- Corn flour – 1 tsp
- Cooking wine (I forgot about this but the minced pork turns out fine.) – 2 tsp
Seasonings:
Method
1. Marinate the minced pork with some pepper, soy sauce, cornflour, cooking wine and set in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, wash the fish slices and lightly marinate it with some pepper and salt. Cut the vegetables, tofu & century egg.
3. Warm up vegetable oil in a pot and add ginger slices and spring onion to stir-fry until fragrant (I used the pot cover to prevent oil from ‘jumping’ out of the pot. At this point, do enjoy the wonderful aroma released). Add the tomato wedges and stir-fry briefly.
4. Add water, fish bone, carrots and bring to boil. When the water starts to boil vigorously, lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are softened. Make sure the pot is partially covered. (This is the best time to start cooking rice if you’re going to serve the soup with it.
5. Remove the fish bone. Add minced pork (in small lumps) and century egg wedges to the soup and bring it to boil again. Season with a pinch of salt (1/4 tsp).
6. When the rice is ready to serve (I suggest you also scoop out the rice into individual bowls first and get your diners seated at the dining table), add the tofu cubes and fish slices to the soup and bring it to boil or until the fish flesh turns white (be careful not to overcook the fish). Turn off the flame. Sprinkle some coriander leaves and serve immediately. Bon appétit :D
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