Roly Poly Fish Head Soup

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3/4 lb cod cheek, gills removed (or fish heads of any non-oily fish)
• 1 raw chicken liver
• 16 fresh spinach leaves (2 leaves per serving)
• 1 cup snow peas (at least 8 snow peas, one per serving)
• 3 tablespoons chopped mushrooms (can use tree ear, cloud ear, wood ear mushrooms found in asian markets)
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup diced bamboo shoot
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, for garnish

Recipe

• 1 fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. add the cod cheek(s) or other non-only fish head(s) (make sure those gills are removed!) and the chicken liver. allow the water to come back to a boil, then remove it from the heat. drain the water from the pot and discard the liquid. set the semi-cooked fish and liver aside to cool.
• 2 remove any meat from the fish bones; discard bones, set aside meat. dice the cooked liver into 3/8-inch pieces; set aside.
• 3 fill a small bowl with boiling water and soak the mushroom pieces in the hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
• 4 fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. add the spinach leaves and let them blanch for 10 seconds. remove them with a sieve or skinner and immediately run them under cold water to halt the cooking. squeeze any excess water from the leaves and set aside.
• 5 bring the saucepan of water back to a boil and blanch the snow peas for 10 seconds, then remove the peas and run them under cold water. set them aside.
• 6 in a pot bring the chicken broth to a boil, then add the bamboo shoots, chicken liver pieces, fish meat, and soaked mushroom pieces. gently simmer over low heat until the fish flakes easily.
• 7 whisk the cornstarch together with the 1/3 cup cold water, then gradually stir it into the soup. bring the soup to a boil and cook just until the soup thickens, then remove from heat.
• 8 add the blanched spinach and snow peas.
• 9 while the soup is still piping hot, gradually add the egg whites while stirring constantly.
• 10 serve in a soup tureen, garnished with the chopped green onions.