Chinese · Hunan · main

Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Salted Chillies (Duo Jiao Yu Tou)

Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Salted Chillies (Duo Jiao Yu Tou) reads salinity 5.7, umami 5.4 and allium 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Hunan main, about 32 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Salinity 5.7 · Umami 5.4 · Allium 4.5 · Richness 4.4 · Sweetness 3.8 · Funk & Ferment 3.7 · Herbaceous 2.5 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Heat 2.0 · Sourness 1.5 · Bitterness 1.1 · Earthy 0.9 · Marine & Briny 0.8 · Nutty 0.6

What's in it (12)

Time & effort: about 32 min (17 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 133.2 kcal, 2.2 g protein, 4.6 g fat, 20.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

  1. Rub the fish head inside and out with the salt and 1 tbsp of the Shaoxing wine and leave 15 minutes. Lay the sliced ginger on a heatproof platter, spread the rice noodles over it, and set the head on top, cut side up and opened out flat.
  2. Warm 2 tbsp of the lard in a small pan and fry the chopped ginger, garlic and black beans 30 seconds, then add the chopped salted chillies and cook 1 minute, until the fat turns red and the raw salt edge has softened. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar and the remaining Shaoxing wine.
  3. Spoon the chilli mixture evenly over the fish head, pressing it into the cuts and into the cheeks.
  4. Steam over high heat, with the water at a hard boil, for 12 to 15 minutes. It is done when the cheek meat comes away from the bone at a nudge from a chopstick and the eye has gone opaque.
  5. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp lard until smoking and pour it over the top, scatter the spring onions and serve. The heat here is gan la, dry and salty and sour from the fermented chillies, with no numbing Sichuan pepper anywhere near it. The noodles underneath, soaked in the juices, are the part everyone fights over.
  6. Substitutions: peanut oil can stand in for the lard.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.