Every time we come across a dish we love, we can’t wait to share it with our readers here on TWOL. Today, I would like to share our newfound love: this easy Fish and Tofu Soup (白菜豆腐鱼汤) or literally, Chinese bok choy tofu fish soup. Winter is here, and we could all use a good bowl of soup to warm us up and for you fish and tofu soup lovers, this is it!
This dish is a great combination of two dishes I love: Shui Zhu Yu (水煮鱼) and Fish Tofu Soup. Shui Zhu Yu is a Sichuan dish of fish boiled in oil, with bean sprouts, chilis, and Sichuan peppercorns. I love the dish, but it involves a LOT of oil. As for Fish Tofu Soup, it’s usually done with a whole fish, which is pan-fried and then added to a stock to boil. This fish soup is much easier than most easy fish recipes:
- There’s no need to deal with cleaning a whole fish (heads, tails and all that).
- You don’t have to pan-fry a fish, which can make your whole house smell like a seafood restaurant in Chinatown.
- We’re using fillets, so you don’t have to sort through pesky bones.
- It’s way less oily than the Sichuan classic.
The first time I had this soup was at a restaurant called Grand Sichuan in Jersey City, and I thought it was brilliant. The boneless fish is tender and tasty, the soup is superb, and it’s actually pretty healthy. Here’s how to make it:
For the fish & marinade:
- 8 oz. tilapia or catfish fillet, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (生抽酱油)
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1-2 thinly sliced ginger
- A handful of sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (reconstituted dried shiitakes are also fine)
- 6 dried red chilies (optional, but they certainly add some nice heat)
- A handful of soybean sprouts (mung bean sprouts will also work)
- 4 cups good chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups fresh water
- A handful of cut Napa cabbage
- ½ block firm tofu, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt, to taste
- Chopped scallion
- Chopped cilantro
Start by marinating the fish.
Mix the fish and marinade ingredients together in a bowl and set aside while you prep the other ingredients (about 15-20 minutes). You should have all the ingredients ready to go before you turn on the stove!
When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and mushrooms, and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant and slightly browned.
Stir in the dried chilies, if using, and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the bean sprouts and stir for another minute.
Add the chicken stock, water, napa cabbage, sliced tofu, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and add salt to taste.
Once boiling, lay each piece of fish on the surface of the soup (do this one by one. You don’t want the fish to stick together in one clump). The heat should still be medium high to high.
Carefully move the fish around the soup so each piece gets submerged in the hot liquid. Bring the soup to boil, and it’s done. Serve with scallion and cilantro on top.
The key is to marinate the fish first so it’s tasty and moist. As you can see, this fish tofu soup is super easy and fast. It’s special enough for the weekend and fast enough for a weekday as well. Enjoy!
- 8 oz. tilapia or catfish fillet, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (????)
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1-2 thinly sliced ginger
- A handful of sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (reconstituted dried shiitakes are also fine)
- 6 dried red chilies (optional, but they certainly add some nice heat)
- A handful of soybean sprouts (mung bean sprouts will also work)
- 4 cups good chicken stock
- 1½ cups fresh water
- A handful of cut Napa cabbage
- ½ block firm tofu, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt, to taste
- Chopped scallion
- Chopped cilantro
- Start by marinating the fish. Mix the fish and marinade ingredients together in a bowl and set aside while you prep the other ingredients (about 15-20 minutes). You should have all the ingredients ready to go before you turn on the stove!
- When you’re ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and mushrooms, and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant and slightly browned. Stir in the dried chilies, if using, and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the bean sprouts and stir for another minute.
- Add the chicken stock, water, napa cabbage, sliced tofu, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and add salt to taste.
- Once boiling, lay each piece of fish on the surface of the soup (do this one by one. You don’t want the fish to stick together in one clump). The heat should still be medium high to high. Carefully move the fish around the soup so each piece gets submerged in the hot liquid. Bring the soup to boil, and it’s done. Serve with scallion and cilantro on top.
- The key is to marinate the fish first so not bland. As you can see, this soup is super easy and fast. It’s special enough for the weekend and fast enough for a weekday as well. Enjoy!
Chris says
Made this tonight: it was excellent! We added some
Sichuan peppercorns and red pepper flakes to make it jump. Thanks for the wonderful meal!
Jessie says
Hi, do you have a recipe for how this may be cooked in a crock pot or Instant Pot? Thanks!
Judy says
Hi Jessie, fish cooks in a few minutes, so it’s not advisable to cook in a crockpot or instant pot, or it’ll get overcooked! :-)
Connie says
I came across your blog a few days ago and was hit with a massive wave of inspiration to do more Chinese cooking. Last night I made this easy fish and tofu soup, Shanghai-style braised pork belly and smashed Asian cucumber salad- my boyfriend and I were thoroughly pleased with how all three dishes turned out! I was expecting leftovers for lunch the following day but he polished off everything! A true testament to how delicious they were, lol. Cannot wait to try more recipes from you guys :)
Judy says
Hahaha…I love the outcome, Connie. Thank you for sharing.
Sisca says
Judy,
This is absolutely delicious. Light, easy & tasty. I used bok choy (that’s what I had) but I think it’ll work with any mild tasting veggies. The whole family loved it. It will be a repeat. Thanks for sharing.
Judy says
Hi Sisca, how wonderful! Love that a dish got the whole family’s approval.
Allie Tao says
I’m so impressed with how this turned out! Thank you. I’ve tried 7 of your guys’ recipes and they have all been very good. These take me back to my childhood dinners with my Cantonese parents and cook/babysitter.
Judy says
Hi Allie, it’s so heartwarming to hear comments like yours. Thank you!
Grace says
Why using chicken stock instead of fish stock?
Judy says
Hi Grace, please use fish stock if you have it. We used chicken stock since it’s readily available off the shelf.
Eric says
Hi
Interesting that the picture of your marinade is white, yet the recipe calls for soy sauce and sesame oil.
Also, the broth is not as translucent as yours…but good nonetheless. I couldn’t get fillets so I did it myself with a catfish. NEVER doing that again.
Cheers
Eric
Judy says
Hi Eric, light soy sauce adds saltiness, but not much color at all.
Stan says
This recipe is great.
Judy says
Thank you, Stan!
Maria says
I made this last night it was super quick and easy and tasted fantastic! I love your blog too. We have made a bunch of recipes off of here now and everyone was great so far. We had made the soup dumplings, the char siu bao and egg tarts just to name a few!!
We love Chinese food but it can be hard to find authentic recipes.
Thank you!1
Judy says
Thank you so much, Maria. We love to hear from our readers and get their feedback. Keep on cooking and so will we. ^_^
Leigh says
Can’t wait to make this. Do you have any other Chinese restaurant recommendation for Northern NJ?
Thanks.
Leigh
Judy says
Hi, Leigh, here’s our restaurant list for Northern NJ. They are not perfect, but certainly rise above the rest: Chengdu 23 (Sichuan Food) in Wayne (next to Willowbrook Mall); Qin Dynasty (Cantonese Food) on Rt 46 in Parsippany; Fortune Cookies (Hunan Food) on Old York Road in Bridgewater, Also, Edison has a lot of Asian Restaurants, but it’s a bit far for us. Hope this helps!
Anh @ FoodandFont says
I make a huge pot of soup at the beginning of every week and eat it all week for dinner. I love the original fish boil in oil dish so I’m really excited to try this.
What would you say the spice level of this dish is?
PS: LOVE the photography.
Judy says
Thank you, Anh. You can control the heat level of this soup easily. With the amount of dried chilies I used for this post, it only had a hint of spiciness the first time we had it. But it was much hotter after reheating the leftovers! BTW, you can also add some Sichuan peppercorns to the soup if you like :-)