I have never heard of anyone making soup from striped bass. I wanted to try this simply because most of my recipes for this fine fish are reasonably involved and I was feeling lazy. Also, I felt like having some fish soup. So began the experiment.

Ingredients:
1 Filleted striped bass
I bass rack
1 can chicken broth (optional)
1 large white onion
1 small bag of baby carrots
2 large potatoes
1 bokchoy
1 turnip
1 parsnip
4 stalks of celery
5 tablespoons soy sauce
bay leaf
old bay
savory
tarragon
salt & pepper to taste

While cleaning the bass we had this weekend, I had Allan hold 1 rack for me. I cleaned it from all foreign junk, skin, fins and the head. Basically it was the bones with a little meat.
I broke it into thirds, put 4 quarts of water in a 4 qt pot added salt & pepper and let this boil for about 3 hours-it reduced by half.
Now, I have to add, THIS STUNK! I don't know why, but it smelled like old bait & I was concerned. But I strained the broth and tossed the garbage then refrigerated the liquid. The next day I skimmed the fat (there was a good amount-all from the fish & bones) and found the broth or stock smelled fresh and light. No fishy smell at all.

Next step. 2 quarts of water seasoned with salt, pepper, tarragon, savory (just a dash of this strong spice), old bay & a bay leaf to taste (a can of chicken broth here is optional). Once brought to a simmer Add 1 full/small bag of baby carrots (halved). Also 1 large white onion, diced. 2 large potatoes cubed. 1 average size turnip cubed, 1 diced parsnip, 4 large stalks of celery cut into small pieces (leaves if present too). Let this simmer around 1 hour till the carrots begin to soften. Then add the fish stock prepared form the rack and 5 tablespoons of soy sauce and a full head of cleaned cut Bok Choy (dice the white and cut the leaf part). Let this simmer for 30 minutes.

Lastly clean & dice 1 stripped bass filet into small pieces. Season this with some old bay then add it to the soup. Add a final dosage of spice from the above list according to taste, stir and turn off the heat after it comes back to a simmer for 2 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 quarts-plenty to save!
Serve with freshly made rice.

The taste is light and fresh. I found the spices, boc choy, vegetables and fish all stood out gently supporting one another. Looking at the contents of this soup it is incredibly good for you with nothing even remotely bad. Best of all it tastes at least as good as it is healthy!

Good Fishing - Good Eating - Captain John
(cr) July 2007