Ingredient Name: Bartail Flathead Fish

Traditional Chinese Name: 牛鰍 (niú qiū)

• This flat headed fish and flat bodied fish is found within the Asian/Indian regions (and South East Asia)
• The fish is brownish and gray in color and is heavily spotted and can grow up to 80 cm for a male
• They tend to live in the sand and muddy areas of the ocean
• This is a common “household” fish used in the Chinese cuisine (and can also be found in Chinese medicine)

How do I prepare it?

• Have the vendor descale and clean the fish for you and cut in half
• At home, you can rinse the inside and the outside of the fish in cool running water
• If you are not cooking the fish immediately, you can slice some pieces of ginger and insert it into the stomach and put in the fridge

Where can I buy this?

• Commonly found in wet marts across Asia and local supermarkets
• The wet mart vendor or seller should descale and remove the insides of the fish for you
• You can have them cut the fish into 2 pieces

What is the cost?

• The price varies, but averages $40 HKD per catty (or per 500 grams)
• An average fish (pictured above) cost around $25 HKD

Any benefits?

• The meat is extremely sweet and one of the ideal fish used in soups
• It’s doesn’t disintegrate easily and a fish bag isn’t necessary if you have the fish in 2 pieces
• Since the shape of the body is unique, the fish is easy to filet and often used in that way when cooked

Any precautions?

• Frying with ginger before soup usage will help the fishiness taste

Additional Information

• For soups, any of the fish posted on this site will suffice as they are generally used for soups and share one thing in common (they are boiled!)