Trapping the Flavour of Fish

Of all parts of the fish, the brain and the skin are tastiest. This is because they contain the most fat. The pursuit of the flavour of fish developed into the cooking of only fish heads, the large brainy heads of bream and mullet (fresh-water fish) being particularly suited to this practice. The taste of bouillabaisse in large part comes from the absurd, big-headed Mediterranean fish. In preparing fish head, observe the following rules.

Use freshly killed fish. The Romans made sure that the fish were freshly killed, by having it done before their eyes. When the fish grew plump in the Yellow River, it was the custom to visit the riverside restaurants, and have it brought to the table live and wriggling, to be stunned and brought straight to the kitchen. This point cannot be over-emphasized.