Whole Fish Soup With Miso And Soft Tofu

Today I had an assignment from R to cook for our employee's birthday. To do that I need to buy small shelled shrimps, my mom told me I should try to go to "Pasar Genteng", another wet market that I have not visit yet since I came back. I remember that I went there once or twice when I was small. She said I can buy many different size of shrimps in there and the fishes there are fresher too. So I went there around 8 AM. My mom's driver warned me that this place is worse than "Pasar Pabean" where I sometimes go. He is right. This place is indoor, dark, the floor is very slippery and dirty, but my mom is also right. The fishes are fresher and they come in many species too. They carry many different type of shrimps too, from very small until medium-large size. They also shelled the shrimps for you if you pre-order first. I almost not able to buy the shelled shrimps because most of them are already pre-ordered first by their regular customers. At "Pasar Pabean", I can also buy shrimps from small to big but not this many sellers and at "Pasar Pabean" they also carry really large shrimps, like about 25cm in length! But "Pasar Genteng" fishes totally better than "Pasar Pabean".

I found this beautiful "Red Kakap", I tried to find the English word for it and it just makes me confuse. Some sites said it's called red seabream and another said porgy. But when I check the photos, they don't look as red as the fish I bought. So if any of you knows what fish is this, please tell me.


Actually the reason why I bought it is because I think this fish looks pretty, jeez... it's so red! Then when I showed it to R, he got excited he said this fish is great when it is cooked with miso as a soup with soft tofu.

So this is how I cook this fish ... my way, just by R's description.

Whole Fish Soup With Miso And Soft Tofu

1 fresh sea fish about 600g ( seabream, porgy, or any other type is up to you as long as it's fresh and from the sea )
4 Tbs yellow miso ( exactly the miso that you use for making miso soup in Japanese restaurant )
1.5 Liter of home-made chicken stock ( no salt )

2 tsp dashi soup stock powder

3 squares of soft tofu, cut into cubes about 1 inch
2 Tbs thinly shredded ginger
1 tsp sugar
salt as needed
2 Tbs chopped green onion

Method:

I put the miso and about 2 cups of chicken stock in my blender first to make sure that the miso has dissolved in the liquid first.
Place the fish on a soup pot that can fit it's length ( I use oval shape pot ) then add ginger , miso with the rest of the chicken stock, dashi, shredded ginger and tofu.
Season the soup with salt and a little sugar if you prefer.
Use low heat and cover the soup, don't let the soup boiling to high or the fish and the tofu will disintegrate and the soup become too messy. Be patient when you cook this soup. It's simple, but don't get tempted to use high heat to speed up the process.
When it's cook, sprinkle the chopped green onions on the soup and serve.

Enjoy!