Salmon Head Soup!

[Sam Salmon]

So I'm thawing out a large Coho head for soup-haven't done it in years.

Any ideas on unique and flavourful ways to do this-bearing in mind that fattiness of Salmon?

There are 4 of these to be cooked over the next few months so your input is Much Appreciated .

TIA

[jayt90]

I am amazed that no one has tackled this for two days. I would suggest a variation on an Italian tomato based soup, a zuppa de pesce, with very little olive oil, in respect of the salmon fat.

Start with chopped vegs (celery heart, onion, garlic, carrot, fennel branches, peppers, and a small handful of rice or pasta. Add S&P, a tbsp of EVOO and melt the main parts. Add 250ml white wine or dry vermouth/sherry, and boil off the alcohol.

Add the fish head, water to cover, and one 28oz can Italian or Spanish tomatoes.

Simmer until the fish head is nicely cooked through, about an hour, then remove it and take out the meat you would like to put back in the pot. For me this this just the upper neck and cheeks, but you may want more.

Finish with fresh herbs on top of each bowl.

[fodgycakes]

How about Vietnamese sour fish soup (canh chua)?

Minced garlic and thai chiles.

5 cups or enough water and/or chicken broth to cover the fish (adjust the rest of the ingredients if you use more/less water)

3/4 - 1 lb seafood like Salmon cut into pieces

2 tb Tamarind soup base or tamarind pulp to taste.

2 tb Fish sauce, 3 tb sugar, 1/4 tsp salt to taste.

2 Tomatoes, sliced.

Vegetables: green onion, 1/2 onion, 1 cup okra, 2 cups bean sprouts, 1 cup taro stem

2 cups Pineapple chunks.

Cilantro, "roc mung", rice paddy herb (rau ngo or rau om) [or lime juice], basil.

Fry up garlic and chiles until fragrant. Add liquid.

Bring liquid to a boil and add fish, lower to a simmer. You can add any other parts of the fish too, if you want more chunks of fish in the soup.

Let simmer for about half an hour, then remove the fish and set aside.

Add tamarind soup base, fish sauce to taste, sugar, and salt to taste.

Add tomatoes, vegetables, and pineapple. Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.

Readd the fish and let it warm back up. Garnish with herbs. Serve over steamed rice.

[Domestic Goddess]

Fodgycakes - that sour fish soup is surprisingly similar to our Filipino favorite - Sinigang Soup (sour soup flavored with unripe tamarind).

[Sam Salmon]

Jay-Thanks for the input-the tomato based soup seems like the way to go.

In the end I made Fish Head Curry-tasty enough but the strong flavour of the Salmon head overwhelmed the mild coconut milk style sauce.

The Sour Fish Head is the what's all over the net I mean all over-a lot of people have C&P'ed it onto their sites.

Doesn't appeal in any case-both Vietnamese and Filipino food have some rather odd flavours I prefer to avoid.