Bowl of Fish Soup with Aromatics
(click to enlarge)

Fish Soup with Aromatics


Burma - Shan   -   Gaeng Pla
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 8 soup
***
1-3/4 hrs
Most		 This amazing fish soup is from the Shan in eastern Burma, bordering China, Laos and Thailand. While incorporating elements from its neighbors, Shan cuisine is unique and outstanding.

2-1/2
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1
1/2
2
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1-1/2
1
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9
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7
2
7
1
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#
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t
T
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in

T
oz
cl
t
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oz
T
c
T
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c
c
Fish meat (1)
-- Paste #1
Lemongrass (2)
Salt
Turmeric Root (3)  
-- Paste #2
Ginger
Chili, green (4)
Cilantro stems (5)
Shallots
Garlic
Salt
---------------
Tomatoes
Tua Nao (6)
Broth (7)
Salt
-- Garnish
Scallion
Thai Basil Leaves
Cilantro Leaves
Prep   -   (1-1/4 hr)
For method see note Pastes.
  1. Cut FISH FILLETS into largish bite size chunks.
  2. Peel off toughest outer leaves of LEMONGRASS. Cut off the hard root end. Smash the bottom 5 inches with your kitchen mallet, then slice crosswise as thin as you can. Place in a mortar with 1/2 t Salt and pound to as close to a paste as you can.
  3. Chop TURMERIC ROOT small and add to the mortar. Continue to pound into paste.
  4. Slice GINGER very thin crosswise, then chop medium.
  5. Slice CHILIS crosswise.
  6. Chop CILANTRO STEMS small.
  7. Peel SHALLOTS, cut in half lengthwise and chop coarse.
  8. Crush GARLIC and chop coarse.
  9. Reduce to a paste in a large mortar and/or food processor.
  10. Mix Paste #1 with Paste #2 and Add 1/2 t Salt.
  11. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water, quench in cold water. Peel and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.
  12. IF using TUA NAO, toast a disk over flame or in a dry pan until slightly darkened. Let cool thoroughly, then grind in your spice grinder. IF not using Tua Nao, use 1 t Dark Miso.
  13. For Garnish, chop SCALLIONS small.
  14. For Garnish Pinch CILANTRO and/or BASIL leaves from stems. If using Thai Basil, soak the leaves in cold water until needed for better color retention. Measure is loosely packed.
Run   -   (35 min)
  1. In a 4 quart pot, place Broth and bring to a boil. Stir in Paste mix, Tomatoes, Tua Nao powder and 1 T Salt. If using Miso instead of Tua Nao, hold until later. Keep at a slow boil for about 10 minutes.
  2. If using Miso, mix a little hot Broth into it until creamy, then stir into Broth.
  3. Stir in Fish Bring back to a boil over high flame, then turn to a fast simmer until fish will flake, usually about 5 minutes from boiling. If doing ahead, stir in the Fish and Herbs just before serving.
  4. Stir Scallions, then Herbs and take off the heat.
  5. Serve hot with steamed Jasmine rice (see Serving). The finished dish can be reheated with care, depending on the fish selected.
NOTES:

  1. Fish:

      The pattern recipe calls for cleaned fish cut into steaks. I don't trust my guests with fish bones, so I use fillets, though channel catfish steaks would be OK. For Fish Steaks you'd need about 3-1/2 pounds of cleaned headless fish, or about 5 pounds of whole uncleaned fish. See Note-8 for much more detail on the fish.

  2. Lemon Grass:

      An essential for Southeast Asian cuisines, these tough grass stems are now widely available in North American markets that serve a Southeast Asian community. I've even seen them in some Korean markets. For details see our Lemon Grass page.

  3. Turmeric Root:

      This can be found in markets serving a South or Southeast Asian community. If you do not have it, use 1/2 Tablespoon Turmeric powder. For details see our Turmeric page.

  4. Chili, Green:

      For group with mixed chili tolerance I use 2 small Thai chilis, more if I will be the only one eating it. The pattern recipe calls for 1/2 cup sliced green cayenne chilis (Thai chilis are a cayenne type), which seems to me a bit excessive - use your own best judgement here. For details see our Thai Chilis page.

  5. Cilantro Stems:

      This should be Cilantro Roots, but those are nearly impossible to find even here in Southern California. Stems are as close as we can get (no leaves).

  6. Tua Nao Disks:

      These are disks of dried fermented soybean paste. You can make them per our recipe Tua Nao Paste, Disks, or they are available on line from Yoma Myanmar in Boston. Subst: If you don't have the disks, use 1/2 Tablespoon Japanese dark miso in this recipe. Note when to put it in.

  7. Broth:

      The pattern recipe allows plain water, but if you have some fish stock on hand, or can make some, you can have a more richly flavored soup. If you bought cleaned head-off fish, it is stil worthwhile making a light stock from the bones and fins. If you bought whole, head-on fish you can make a stronger stock. The pattern recipe says to toss in any heads you have with the rest of the fish, a common practice in Southeast Asia, but I prefer to make stock separately. For details on how to make and how to store fish stock see our recipe Making Fish Stock.

  8. Fish:

      Shan State is an inland region with major rivers, so river fish would be used there, such as Catfish, Carp or farmed Tilapia. Carp is delicious, but shot full of thread bones most Americans haven't learned to handle, so I don't serve it. Vietnamese Catfish is fine, and American Channel Cat could even be included as steaks, as in the pattern recipe. Tilapia holds up to wet cooking just well enough for soups and stews. The photo example was made with Walking Catfish [Clarias Fish] (skin-on) and Tilapia fillets (skin-off). If I make soups like this from ocean fish, my favorites are Japanese Amberjack and Golden Pompano. For details see our Varieties of Fish page (very large page).

  9. Pastes:

      After chopping fine, I run Paste #1 in my mini-prep processor as fine as it will get. I then pound it in a big stone mortar. I run Paste #2 in the processor, then add it to the mortar and pound some more until blended. Add items to processor in order given, especially garlic last as it tends to gum things up. This double process gives me the desired texture from pounding with a lot less pounding.

  10. Serving:

      In Southeast Asia, soups are usually ladled onto the rice. For Western service I find it much more convenient to serve the soup in individual bowls and provide a bowl of Jasmine rice on the table with a spoon so diners can spoon some into their soup bowl to mix as they wish.
  11. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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