Duojiao Yutou (剁椒鱼头)

Duojiao yutou — steamed fish head with chopped salted chiles — is perhaps the most iconic dish of Hunan cuisine, associated with the legendary scholar Huang Zongxian who supposedly invented it during a time of poverty in the Qing Dynasty. The dish's fame exploded when it became a staple of Changsha's restaurant scene. The duojiao (chopped salted red chiles) are piled generously over a split bighead carp head, then steamed until the fish is silky and the chiles' fermented, fiery fragrance permeates every bite.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large bighead carp head or salmon head, about 1 kg (2.2 lb), split in half
• 150 g (5 oz) duojiao (Chinese fermented salted chiles), store-bought or homemade
• 4 cm (1.5 in) fresh ginger, julienned
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 spring onions, julienned
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

1. Rinse fish head; pat dry. Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern. Rub all over with Shaoxing wine and set in a deep, wide heat-proof dish.
2. Mix duojiao with garlic and sugar. Spread thickly and evenly over the cut face of the fish head. Scatter ginger julienne over and around.
3. Pour soy sauce over the fish. Set up a large wok as a steamer with a rack; bring water to a rolling boil.
4. Steam fish head on high heat 12–15 minutes until flesh is just opaque and pulls easily from the bone.
5. Scatter spring onion julienne over the top. Heat oil and sesame oil together in a small pan until smoking. Pour hot oil directly over the spring onions — it will sizzle dramatically and release their fragrance.
6. Serve immediately from the steaming dish, with plenty of steamed rice.

Cook's Notes: Duojiao is available at Chinese grocery stores. The fermented chile paste provides both heat and umami that fresh chiles cannot replicate. The sizzling oil pour at the end is not optional — it is the signature finishing move of this dish.