Chef-tested recipe
A fragrant homemade fish stock with white-fish bones, onions, spring onions, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves and a light touch of fennel. It gives seafood soups and sauces a savoury base with a fresh citrus aroma.
A good stock gives the next dish somewhere to begin. Here, the fish supplies the body, the onions bring gentle sweetness, and the aromatics add fragrance without needing wine, stock cubes or added salt. Keep the simmer quiet and the seasoning for the finished dish.
From the kitchen: This recipe is inspired by Sixto’s stockpot photograph. The quantities below are a newly developed, smaller-batch formulation, rather than a measurement of the batch pictured. This exact formulation has not yet been kitchen-tested.
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- About 2.5–3 litres
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 50 minutes
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cuisine
- Southeast Asian-inspired
- Course
- Stock, Soup Base
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Best Served With
- Fish noodle soups, coconut seafood curries, seafood rice and light pan sauces.
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Equipment
- 8–10 litre stockpot paid link
- Kitchen scales and measuring jug paid link
- Ladle or skimmer paid link
- Fine sieve and clean food-grade muslin paid link
- Heatproof shallow containers paid link
- Large bowl or sink for an ice-water bath paid link
Ingredients
- 2000 g fresh white-fish heads and frames, weighed after cleaning; gills, innards and blood clots removed
- 3500 ml cold water, plus a little extra only if needed to just cover the bones
- 250 g white onion, peeled and sliced
- 100 g red onion, peeled and sliced
- 100 g spring onions, washed, roots removed and cut into short lengths
- 60 g lemongrass, trimmed, bruised and cut into 5 cm lengths
- 3 g fennel seeds, lightly crushed Shop paid link
- 3 g whole black peppercorns
- 0.4 g dried bay leaves, approximately 2 medium leaves paid link
- 3 g fresh or frozen makrut lime leaves, approximately 4–6 leaves, lightly torn
Preparation Overview
Clean the fish carefully, combine it with cold water and most of the aromatics, then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the lime leaves near the end, strain without pressing, and use immediately or cool promptly. The 50-minute cooking time includes heating, simmering and straining. Allow additional cooling time if storing the stock.
Method
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Prepare the fish. Ask your fishmonger to remove the gills and innards and cut large frames into pieces that fit your pot. Keep the fish chilled until needed. Remove remaining blood clots and loose scales. If rinsing is needed, use a gentle flow of cold water, avoid splashing, then clean and sanitise the sink and surrounding surfaces.
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Build the base. Put the cleaned fish in an 8–10 litre stockpot with the white onion, red onion, spring onions, lemongrass, fennel seeds, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add 3500 ml cold water. Use a pot that holds everything snugly; add only enough extra water to just cover the bones.
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Heat gradually and skim. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, allowing roughly 15 minutes depending on your stove and pot. As foam collects, lift it off with a ladle. Avoid stirring the bones.
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Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Lower the heat so small bubbles rise occasionally rather than the whole surface rolling. Cook uncovered. Add the makrut lime leaves for the final 10 minutes. Skim again if needed; do not keep topping up the pot during this short simmer.
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Strain carefully. Turn off the heat. Ladle the stock through a fine sieve lined with clean, damp food-grade muslin into a heatproof container. Do not press the fish or vegetables through the sieve. Discard the strained solids. Expect approximately 2500–3000 ml; the final volume depends on the pot, bones and evaporation.
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Finish or cool promptly. Keep the stock unsalted for later cooking. If serving it immediately as broth, season the portion you need. Otherwise divide it into small, shallow containers, use an ice-water bath to speed cooling and refrigerate promptly. Follow the storage guidance below.
Beginner Technique Notes
No added salt: Season the finished soup or sauce. Reducing a salted stock concentrates its saltiness.
- Choose the fish for the result you want. Fresh sea bass, snapper or cod heads and frames suit this light stock. Salmon or mackerel make a stronger, oilier stock and are better reserved for dishes that welcome that flavour.
- Keep the aromatics restrained. The fennel should sit behind the fish. The bay and lime leaves are accents, so do not scale their quantities by the handful.
- For a clearer stock: skim gently, avoid a rolling boil and let the liquid drain through the sieve without pressing. Red onion may give the stock a warmer colour.
- For more intensity: reduce the strained stock in a clean saucepan. Taste as it reduces, because the citrus and spice flavours become stronger too.
- Substitutions: replace the red onion with the same weight of white onion, or the spring onions with 100 g washed, sliced leek. Omit fennel seeds if you prefer no anise-like note.
- No makrut lime leaves? Omit them, or add 2 thin strips of lime zest, with no white pith, for the final 5 minutes. This gives a different citrus flavour. If lemongrass is also unavailable, leave it out rather than doubling the zest.
- For a more neutral sauce base: omit the lemongrass, lime leaves and fennel, and use white onion in place of red onion.
Serving Ideas
- Use this stock in fish noodle soup, a coconut seafood curry, seafood rice or a light pan sauce. Its lemongrass and lime notes particularly suit Southeast Asian flavours. For a classic fish velouté or a delicate risotto, use the more neutral variation in the chef notes.
For a coconut noodle dish, try the stock as a variation in Singapore Laksa, replacing the recipe’s stock volume for volume. It will give a different flavour from prawn or chicken stock.
Storage
Divide the strained stock into small, shallow containers and chill promptly; do not leave the whole stockpot on the counter to cool. An ice-water bath helps. Refrigerate within 2 hours of finishing cooking, or within 1 hour if the room is hotter than 32°C.
Keep covered at 4°C or below and use within 2 days for this recipe, or freeze in 250 ml or 500 ml portions at −18°C for up to 3 months for best quality. Label each container and leave room for expansion. Thaw in the refrigerator. When reheating a stored portion, bring it to a rolling boil before using. The gentle simmer in the method is for making the stock; this reheating step applies after storage.
Nutritional Value
Nutrition is not calculated. The amount of fish flesh, fat and gelatin extracted varies with the heads and frames used, and the solids are strained out.
Allergen Notes
Contains fish. The base recipe contains no added dairy, egg, wheat or shellfish. Check packaged ingredients and any added sauces, and account for cross-contact when cooking for someone with an allergy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen fish bones?
Yes. Use bones that were frozen while fresh and kept frozen. Thaw them in the refrigerator before cleaning and cooking; do not thaw them on the kitchen counter.
Do I need to cook fish stock for several hours?
No. This recipe uses a short, gentle 30-minute simmer after the stock reaches temperature. A prolonged cook is unnecessary for this light style.
Can I use this stock in any seafood recipe?
Use it where lemongrass, citrus and fennel complement the dish. For recipes that need a plain fish stock, choose the neutral variation in the chef notes.
What references support the method and storage advice?
The fish preparation and gentle extraction principles were checked against Great British Chefs’ fish stock guide (https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-to-cook/how-to-make-fish-stock). Cooling and reheating guidance follows USDA FSIS guidance on leftovers (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/leftovers-and-food-safety); cold-storage temperatures and freezer quality guidance are also covered by FoodSafety.gov’s storage chart (https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts). The two-day refrigerator limit here is a conservative recipe recommendation.
