Fish Head & Taro Claypot

    Delicious claypot of fish, taro and Chinese herbs, blended with milk and chicken stock.

I've been busy and lazy--bad combination. It's really hard to cook now that both boys are not home and the rest of my family--me, my mom, Hub and my daughter, who is based between Shanghai and here for this year--is always on a diet, either to loose weight for health or to fit into apparel that are one size too small. I used to be skin and bones, weighing 52 kgs after my third kid was born, and was known (and envied by less lucky friends) for eating huge portions without gaining weight. Now I can't loose weight even when I starve myself. Last week, my daughter forced me into a hip hop class at her regular gym. After 15 minutes and feeling stupid always being a step behind, I caught myself in the mirror rolling my shoulders and shrugging my body and I looked so stupid, I ran out of the class. I'd rather be fat.

So, did you read recently that a diet big on fish can reduce your chance of a heart attack by a whopping %tage? The more fish I eat, the more uncomfortable I get about eating other meat. Maybe it's time I turn vegetarian, which is not hard because good bacon and beef are hard to find here.

Alu Alu Restaurant's taro fish head claypot is their best dish, in our opinion, but lately while the taste is still awesome, getting a piece of taro is like going on a treasure hunt. Sometimes they even forget to spike the dish with dong gui, a Chinese herb that makes the dish so extraordinary. So, as every decent mom would do, I cloned the dish at home and got it right first time, with the help of my kids who told me that Alu Alu's white sauce is definitely milk, not cream, and that there is plenty of chicken stock powder flavor. Better than Alu Alu's said my daughter at first bite, which prompted her brother to call her an ass-kisser.

I cooked the dish again recently, this time adding the sauce to the fish just before serving so that the fish doesn't break up. I am so pleased with the results. I hope you like it too. If fish head is not to your taste (poor you), you can use fish fillet slices (poor you) with skin on so that the fish won't break up.

Fish Head & Taro Claypot

400 gm fish head (grouper is good), in chunks, or thick slices of fish fillet skin on

300 gm taro, in small chunks

6 to 8 pips of whole garlic, peeled

10 to 15 dried lily buds, soaked, hard tip removed & tied in a knot

6 to 8 red dates, soaked and slit once on the side to release flavor

2 to 4 very thin pieces of dried dong gui

1 thin slice of fresh ginger

2 T dried cloud ears, soaked, or 2 pieces dried Chinese mushrooms

cilantro for garnish

2 tsp chicken stock powder

3/4 cup fresh milk

1 to 1 1/2 cups water

salt & white pepper to taste

1/2 tsp castor sugar (optional)

veg oil

1 cup potato starch flour

1 egg white

1. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Massage in the egg white. Put potato starch into a plastic bag and add the fish piece by piece, shaking to coat thoroughly. Shake off excess flour. Deep-fry the garlic pips until golden, remove and then fry the fish until just cooked. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

2. Put the lily buds, red dates, mushroom or cloud's ears, ginger, dong gui and taro into a pot over medium heat (if like, add some oil before adding these items) and add the water and chicken stock. Cover. When sauce boils, lower the fire and season with salt and pepper, and sugar if using. When the taro is tender, add the milk. Season to taste, adding more milk or water or chicken stock if necessary. At the same time, heat up a large claypot until a drop of water sizzles when dripped into the pot. Arrange the fish slices into the claypot and pour the sauce over the fish. Top with the cilantro and serve immediately. Eat with rice. You can also cook everything in the claypot (but the dish won't have a dramatic sizzle) but be careful when turning the fish because it can break up and disintegrate.