When I order fish and seafood from @faharseafood I usually ask for the grouper to be filleted, and the fillets will be delivered along with the head and bones. After a few rounds of orders, I accumulated quite a few sets of these, and I felt that it would’ve been such a waste to just throw them away. So I decided to do what I usually do when given a bunch of bones from any animal: make stock.
This recipe based by the one from Hank Shaw interestingly uses typically East Asian ingredients like konbu and dried mushrooms, to infuse a huge load of umami into the stock. I subbed the white wine with rice vinegar diluted with white grape juice, and I feel that this makes the stock less fishy yet packed with flavor.
Will be making quite a few dishes to use up the stock in the next few weeks.
In a large stockpot over medium high heat, heat the olive oil.
Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned, 10 minutes.
Add the juice to deglaze the pan.
Add the fish, mushrooms, bay leaves, star anise, thyme, konbu, cilantro and water, ensuring the ingredients are covered by 1 to 2 inches. Here I added about 4 liters of water.
Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat. Do not allow the liquid to boil. If you have an instant-read thermometer, lower the heat when the temperature reaches about 80 degrees C. Simmer for 45 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour. Please note that these are important pointers. Based on the blog New Malaysian Kitchen, because we are cooking the stock gently below boiling point for only an hour, the konbu should be safe to leave in throughout the cooking process, without having to worry about it turning the broth slimy or imparting unpleasant fishiness.
Use a double/ultra fine mesh strainer, if available. If not, line your strainer with single-layer paper towels or a cheesecloth. After the stock has simmered for max 1 hour, turn the heat to the lowest setting possible. Ladle the liquid through the prepared strainer.
Use as desired. The stock is at best used on the same day, otherwise it will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
Fish Stock
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot roughly chopped
- 3 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 2 cups white grape juice OR apple juice optional
- 1 to 2 kg fish bones and heads gills removed
- 4 dried mushrooms
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 star anise
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 pieces dried kombu
- 2 sprigs cilantro daun ketumbar
- 4 liters water
Instructions
- In a large stockpot over medium high heat, heat the olive oil.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned, 10 minutes.
- Add the juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add the fish, mushrooms, bay leaves, star anise, thyme, konbu, cilantro and water, ensuring the ingredients are covered by 1 to 2 inches.
- Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat. Do not allow the liquid to boil. If you have an instant-read thermometer, lower the heat when the temperature reaches about 80 degrees C. Simmer for 1 hour.1
- Use a double/ultra fine mesh strainer, if available. If not, line your strainer with single-layer paper towels or a cheesecloth.
- After the stock has simmered for max 1 hour, turn the heat to the lowest setting possible. Ladle the liquid through the prepared strainer.
- Use as desired. The stock is at best used on the same day, otherwise it will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
Notes
- Gently simmering the stock without letting it boil for no more than an hour prevents the konbu from leaching its sliminess and fishy smell into the stock.
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