Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

2 Scallions, white part only,
-crushed with the side of a
-knife
Freshly ground black pepper
2 ts Salt
2 tb Plus 4 teaspoons fish sauce
-(nuoc mam)
1 lg Fish head or fish carcass,
-split down the center
1 qt Water
1/2 c Canned sliced sour bamboo
1/4 Fresh pineapple, cut in a
-lengthwise section and
-sliced
1 ds MSG (optional)
2 tb Mixed chopped fresh
-coriander (Chinese parsley)
Scallion green

An excellent way to get twice the pleasure out of your fish purchase.
You can use either the fish head of the fish carcass if you wish. To
the people of the South, this is as much their traditional dish as
Southern Fried Chicken is to our southerners++and it will meet with
instant praise

Sprinkle the scallions, black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 4
teaspoons fish sauce over the fish head. Allow to stand for 10 to 15
minutes.

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and drop in the sour bamboo and
pineapple slices. Cook at a lively boil for 5 minutes. Drop fish
head into the actively boiling water and, keeping at a boil, add the
2 tablespoons fish sauce, remaining teaspoon salt, and a dash of MSG.
Boil the fish head for a total of 10 minutes. Transfer to a soup
tureen, sprinkle on the coriander and scallion green, and serve.

NOTE: If the fish head is dropped into water that is not boiling, it
will fall apart.

Makes 4 servings.

From "The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam", Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman,
Barron's, 1979.

This is real good with chunks of catfish, shrimp, whatever...

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; December 28 1991.

Browse by categories