Fish Stock

Fish stock in portions, ready for the freezer

Don't throw away the frame, head, and skin! At least save it for someone else to use. Fish stock is amazing for lots of things:

Tom Yum Soup
Ramen
Bouillabaisse
Spanish Saffron Fish Soup
French Onion Soup
Miso Soup

Tom yum

Ramen

Udon something. Super simple but delicious.

The best miso soup you've ever had at home

French onion soup

You can make litres of stock and freeze it in portions. You can reduce it to 1/4 of the original volume so that it takes up less space.

While you're filleting, just save any leftover skin and bones (blood removed) in a freezer bag or wrapped in cling wrap. Store it in the freezer until you've saved up enough to make a stock. For me that's usually around 2-3kg, but you can make it from a lot less (like 500g).

You'll end up with a base that warms your whole body when eaten. It's a big difference compared to water! You can even drink it straight up.

I don't eat pork, chicken, or beef, so fish stock is a great substitute in a lot of recipes.

Mirepoix

Do 1:10 ratio by weight. Some do 1:8. Honestly, it doesn't matter much.

Classic:

2 parts onion
1 part carrot
1 part celery

French style mirepoix

Ramen:

Ginger
Garlic
Combu
Onion

Japanese ramen mirepoix

Aromatics

This is what I prefer

Bay leaf
Peppercorns
Thyme

Bay leaf, pepper, thyme aromatics for fish stock

Fish stock

I've finally learned that keeping the stock "light" is how it's supposed to be done and it's way nicer. What I used to do is more of a broth. It's still super nice, but I'm moving towards the lighter stock these days.

In this method you simmer the bones/skin without baking first and simmer for max 30 minutes. It should never come to a boil, just the odd bubble here and there. You can still reduce it by boiling, but after you've removed the bones.

You'll notice how this is a lot brighter/thinner than the broth

I also just simmer it in a normal pot, rather than the multicooker which I used to use. Since it's only 30 minutes it's manageable without stinking up the house. Fish stock/broth smells a bit fishy, but this goes away as soon as you use it. It actually smells nice, but perhaps not how you want your house to smell.