Buying the fish head

The 1st photo shows the fishmonger handing over a fish head (wrapped in plastic bag) to me.

In the 2nd photo, bighead carps cut into pieces are on display. Two fish heads can be seen placed in a tray. The 3rd photos gives a closer look.

Sorry if they look like scenes from horror movies.

Throughout the morning, the fishmonger will keep on replenishing the fish heads/pieces as people come to buy them.

You can also see small signs indicating the prices. English as well as Chinese names are shown, including the name "Bighead carp". I never took notice of them. (I wrote to the General Manager of Hong Kong's Fish Marketing Organization to enquire about the English name of the fish. Only later did I know this was in fact not necessary as it is readily shown in the market place.)

When one buys the head of a bighead carp, the fishmonger will ask: "How are you going to cook it?". If you answer "For double-boiling", then the fishmonger will know it is not necessary to chop or cut the head into pieces. I'll explain about this later.

In Hong Kong's local markets, fish is usually weighed in catty which is a Chinese unit. The head of a bighead carp weighs about one catty . That is roughly 600 grams, I think.

There is of course slight variation in the size, and therefore the weight, of the fish head one buys. It doesn't matter. I don't really vary the amount of the other ingredients accordingly. Just view it as a dish for nutritional purpose. No need to be very precise with the amounts of ingredients.