Lao fish head soup - tom hua pa
 
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This Lao fish head soup is rich in savoury and sour flavours which are enhanced by the tomatoes, tamarind and a squeeze of lemon/lime juice. The addition of garden greens like rocket (or watercress) add a distinct bitter and herbal character to the soup, making it a soothing and satisfying complementary dish to a main meal.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Lao
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 3 Liters of water
  • 1 kg of salmon fish head and frame (or other type of fish)
  • 6 cherry tomatoes
  • 100 grams of rocket
  • 10 slices of ginger
  • 10 slices of galangal
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves
  • 1 lemon grass
  • 1 tsp of tamarind paste
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1 coriander
  • 1 onion
  • 1 chili
  • 1 lemon (or lime)
  • 4 mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • ½ tsp of ground pepper
Instructions
  1. First, prepare the fish head and frame. Cut the fish head off the body and then cut it in half (length-ways). Cut the fish frame into 5 cm pieces. Wash and clean the fish head and frame pieces thoroughly to remove any excess slime or scales. Be careful of the sharp bones.
  2. Prepare the vegetables – wash and halve the cherry tomatoes, wash the rocket, wash and slice the ginger and galangal into 10 thin pieces each, wash the kaffir lime leaves, wash and cut the head of lemongrass into thin slices, peel the cloves of garlic, wash the chili, wash and cut the root and stem off the spring onion and coriander, wash and slice the onion into eighths, wash and quarter the mushrooms, wash and slice the lemon/lime into wedges.
  3. In a pot, add 3 Liters of water, the chopped fish head and frame pieces, ginger, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic, chili, root and stem of the spring onion and coriander, onion, salt, pepper, tamarind paste and fish sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir gently occasionally and skim the surface of the broth with a spoon to remove any foam that has developed whilst cooking.
  4. Add the cherry tomatoes and mushrooms (and other optional ingredients). Adjust the flavours with salt, pepper and fish sauce to suit your liking.
  5. Add the rocket into the soup just before serving and stir through gently.
  6. Serve immediately in a large bowl and garnish with finely chopped spring onion and coriander leaves. Squeeze in lemon/lime juice for extra sour flavour if preferred. What you're aiming for is a balance of savoury and slightly sour fish flavour.
  7. Enjoy as a complementary dish in a Lao meal, and serve with hot sticky rice or crusty bread.
Notes
Optional ingredients to add to the soup include other vegetables (eg: bitter melon, choko, okra, dill, fennel, etc) and other seafood (eg: prawns, clams, mussels, etc).
Recipe by Padaek at http://padaek.com/make-tom-hua-pa-lao-fish-head-soup/