Lunch: XO Fish Bee Hoon Soup

I just realised that I forgot to post this! The only reason I remembered was because we had this for lunch yesterday. Hah.

I decided to try to cook Fish Bee Hoon Soup because DD really loves it, and I was running out of soupy meals to cook at home for those days when we all need something light and (somewhat) healthy. Before this, I only had 2 real options, which are also our perennial favourites: (1) Chicken Macaroni Soup and (2) Fishball Noodle Soup. I needed more variety!

I shopped around for some recipes and came up with my own and I’m glad that this dish is fast becoming a new family favourite. Honestly, it’s still a bit of a work-in-progress because I keep tweaking it. Also because I am one of those cook who likes to agar-agar her way through dishes. I taste and adjust as I go along. So if you do decide to try this out, use the proportions more as a guide than as absolute measurements. At the end of the day, it’s also about what tastes good to you!

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)
2 small red onions
3-4 cloves garlic
1 thumb sized knob ginger
300-400g firm fish (Snakehead/Garoupa/Snapper Loin/Cod)
Oil for deep frying
400g fish bones
1 cup dried ikan bilis
2 tomatoes, quartered
5-6 bunches of green vegetables (Chye Sim/Xiao Bai Chye)
1 litre fish stock
1 tablespoon sesame oil
150-200ml evaporated milk
1 packet thick bee hoon noodles
3 tablespoons XO (optional)
Salt and Pepper

Method
1. Roughly chop the red onions and garlic. Cut/Shred the ginger into thin slices. Rinse the cup of ikan bilis.
2. Cut the fish into bite-size chunks to your liking. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the fish till golden brown. Remove, drain and set aside.
4. In a stock pot (for the soup), heat 2 tablespoons of oil till hot.
5. Add onions, garlic and ginger and fry until onions are slightly translucent.
6. Add fish bones, dried ikan bilis and a splash (about 1 tablespoon) of XO, if using, to the mixture and fry until fragrant.
7. Add fish stock and tomatoes and bring soup stock to a boil.
8. While waiting for the soup to boil, bring water to the boil in a separate pot and blanch the bee hoon noodles until soft. Remove and drain, and divide into serving bowls.
9. Blanch vegetables in boiling water. Remove and drain, and add to serving bowls.
10. Return to soup stock and add the evaporated milk and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining XO and simmer for 3 mins, if using.
11. Ladle soup into serving bowls.

Tuck in!