Steamed fish heads with chopped salted chiles were all the rage when I was living in Changsha. Waiters would emerge from restaurant kitchens bearing enormous, steaming platters, each one carrying a huge fish head, opened out flat, covered in a colorful scattering of scarlet chili and flecked with black beans and green. Chinese people love to eat foods with what my father would call a “high grapple factor,” in other words, that require dexterity with tongue and teeth, and fish heads are a prime example. They are prized for the silkiness of their flesh and their variety of textures, and are easily eaten with chopsticks. The huge fish heads enjoyed in Hunan are those of the bighead carp (yong yu in Chinese, or xiong yu in Hunan dialect).

I’ve adapted the recipe for people who might prefer not to eat fish heads, but would nonetheless appreciate the splendid colors and bold flavors of this dish. In testing it, I’ve used lemon sole, because its silkiness reminds me of the original recipe, but you might prefer other flatfish, or perhaps a whole brill or turbot for a larger party (as long as it will fit into your steamer). And if you want to be as authentic as possible, buy a large salmon head, cleave it nearly in half, and lay it, open and skin-side up, onto a pair of chopsticks on a large serving dish. Season and steam as in the recipe below, and remove the chopsticks before serving.