IngredientsWhat you'll need for Tomato Fish Soup with Snakehead

Ingredient

Amount

Notes

Snakehead fish

over 2 jin (1kg)

For degreasing fish fillets and bones:

each portion

Scallion-ginger cooking wine

50g

Salt

1 tsp

For seasoning fish fillets:

Egg white

Scallion-ginger cooking wine

10g

Salt

1 tsp

White pepper

to taste

Cornstarch

1 tbsp

For the tomato fish broth:

Tomatoes

over 1 jin (500g)

Ginger

4 slices

Garlic

4 cloves

Pickled chili peppers

to taste

Sichuan peppercorns

about 20

Scallions

2 stalks

White sesame seeds

a pinch

Lemon

half

Cooking wine

1 tbsp

Oyster sauce

1 tbsp

Salt

2 tsp

Sugar

1 tbsp

A delicious Tomato Fish Soup with Snakehead recipe.

Cooking StepsHow to cook Tomato Fish Soup with Snakehead step by step

Step 1 Detail

Compared to grass carp, snakehead fish is more nutritious and has no small bones, making it a popular choice for Sichuan pickled fish, boiled fish, and tomato fish. When buying snakehead fish at the market, ask the vendor to fillet it for you.

Step 2 Detail

Wash the snakehead fish thoroughly. The blood along the spine must be completely cleaned out. Trim the fins and soak to remove residual blood.

Step 3 Detail

Remove the rib bones from the fillets.

Step 4 Detail

Starting from the tail end, slice the fillets at an angle.

Step 5 Detail

Cut the fish bones into chunks. Place fillets and bones in two separate bowls. Add 1 tsp salt and 50g scallion-ginger cooking wine to each, mix well to remove fishiness.

Step 6 Detail

After mixing, the water will be very cloudy. Rinse both fillets and bones until the water runs clear. Don’t skip this step — it removes fishiness and makes the fillets cleaner, resulting in much less scum during cooking.

Step 7 Detail

Squeeze excess water from the fillets and pat the fish bones dry with paper towels.

Step 8 Detail

To the fillets, add 1 egg white, 1 tsp salt, 10g cooking wine, and white pepper to taste.

Step 9 Detail

Stir in one direction until evenly mixed.

Step 10 Detail

Add 1 tbsp cornstarch.

Step 11 Detail

Stir until the mixture becomes thick and sticky.

Step 12 Detail

Marinate the fillets for 20 minutes.

Step 13 Detail

When buying tomatoes, choose ones that are red, heavy, and soft. The redder and riper the tomato, the higher the lycopene content. Score a cross on each tomato.

Step 14 Detail

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about one minute, then peel off the skins.

Step 15 Detail

Dice the tomatoes into small pieces.

Step 16 Detail

Prepare 4 cloves of garlic and 4 slices of ginger.

Step 17 Detail

Pulse in a food processor until finely minced.

Step 18 Detail

Alternatively, mince the ginger and garlic by hand.

Step 19 Detail

Heat oil in a wok and pan-fry the fish bones.

Step 20 Detail

Flip when one side is golden brown.

Step 21 Detail

While frying the other side, push the bones aside and add the minced garlic and ginger to the empty space to fry until fragrant.

Step 22 Detail

Stir-fry everything together evenly.

Step 23 Detail

Add boiling water, cooking wine, and salt. After 2–3 minutes the broth will turn milky white — the longer you simmer, the whiter it gets. Skim off any foam. Taste the broth — it’s already incredibly flavorful!

Step 24 Detail

Remove the fish bones and arrange them at the bottom of a serving bowl. Reserve the fish broth.

Step 25 Detail

In a separate pot, stir-fry the diced tomatoes until soft and mushy. Add chili oil or pickled peppers if desired.

Step 26 Detail

Pour in the reserved fish bone broth and season to taste.

Step 27 Detail

If you use enough ripe red tomatoes, there’s no need for tomato paste at all! Whether to add it is up to you. Takeout tomato fish often relies on tomato paste — it never tastes as good as pure fresh tomatoes. I recommend skipping the paste and using more tomatoes for that natural flavor!

Step 28 Detail

Add the marinated fish fillets and cook just until most of them turn opaque.

Step 29 Detail

Transfer to the serving bowl.

Step 30 Detail

Sprinkle with white sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and chopped scallions. Pour hot oil over the top to release the aromas of the scallions and peppercorns.