Fish head curryServes 4
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp shrimp paste
1-3 small red chillies
2 garlic cloves
1 small knob each of fresh ginger and turmeric
1 lemongrass stem end
1 tsp fresh coriander
Zest and juice 2 limes
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 chopped spring onions
6 curry leave branches,
leaves only
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 finely chopped tomatoes
3 Tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp sugar
1-2 cups fish stock (see recipe below)
¼ cup coconut cream, optional
3 fish heads
Cooked rice and extra fresh coriander to serve
- To a food processor add curry paste, shrimp paste, red chillies, garlic, fresh ginger and turmeric, lemongrass stem end, fresh coriander and the zest and juice of 2 limes. Blitz to a paste.
- Heat olive oil add chopped spring onions, the curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, followed by the curry paste. Cook 5 minutes until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tamarind pulp and sugar and cook until thick. Add fish stock and simmer until flavours are combined. Add the coconut cream, if using.
- Submerge the fish heads in the sauce. Cover and gently simmer until heads are fully cooked. You can also bake them, covered in sauce, in a moderate oven. Serve with rice and more fresh coriander.
Make it different
Add eggplant, okra or pumpkin to this spicy, sour Malaysian street food staple if you wish. If you’re not so keen to pick around bones in your curry, pick the flesh from the heads once cooked and serve with the strained sauce, or use the cooked flesh to make fish cakes to serve with the sauce.
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Grilled fish collar
This recipe is great as a shared plate and uses a fish collar or the tail. The collar, the section just behind the head and gills, includes the wing and belly. The tail is the meaty end from mostly larger fish that has been cut off, instead of filleted all the way, leaving plenty of good fish still on it! Ask your fishmonger for them.
1 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste, from Asian markets)
1 Tbsp miso paste
1 Tbsp sake or Shaoxing rice wine
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
Zest and juice 1 lemon
Splash soy sauce
1 large fish collar or tail piece (hapuka or salmon work well)
Lemon wedges to serve
- Whisk together gochujang, miso paste, sake (or shaoxing wine) and mirin. Whisk in finely grated ginger, crushed garlic, the zest and juice of 1 lemon and a splash of soy sauce.
- Marinate a large fish collar or tail piece (hapuka or salmon work well) in marinade for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
- Cook under a hot grill (or skin side down in a covered barbecue) until firm and caramelised. Serve with lemon wedges as a shared plate for people to dig in to.
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Fish stock
3-4 fish heads and frames
2 onions
2-3 celery stalks
1 leek
1 large punch parsley stalks
Few bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
- Remove the guts and gills from the fish heads and frames, and wash out the cavities (or ask the fishmonger nicely).
- Add to a large pot with roughly chopped onions, celery stalks, leek and parsley stalks. Fill with cold water. Add a few bay leaves and 1 tsp peppercorns and simmer for 45-60 minutes until the heads break apart. Cool and strain.
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Simple fish soupMakes 4 bowls
1 onion
2 celery sticks
1 capsicum
1 knob butter
⅓ cup rice
3 bay leaves
4-6 cups hot fish stock (see recipe above)
1 lemon, rind and juice
Pinch saffron
Freshly chopped parsley
- Finely chop onion, celery sticks and capsicum. Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan and gently fry vegetables until soft but not coloured.
- Add rice, bay leaves and hot fish stock. Simmer until rice is tender, then add the juice and zest of a lemon.
- Ladle into 4 bowls and add a pinch of saffron, freshly chopped parsley, a sprinkle of sea salt flakes and a grind of black pepper to each.
Make it different
Use a grated kumara instead of rice, or try a mix of Jerusalem artichoke, fennel bulb and leek instead of onion, celery and capsicum. Add aromatics like kaffir lime leaves, chilli, lemongrass and ginger, according to taste, or shred fresh greens such as kale, brussels sprouts or coriander into the soup to serve. Garnish each bowl with half a soft-boiled egg, if liked.