Chrysanthemum fish soup

500g garoupa, seabass, or other white fish

30 small chrysanthemum flowers (15 large?)
300ml water
15cm celery, cut into chunks (optional)
7 slices of ginger
1 shallot, sliced thin
3 spring onions (including the whites), chopped into inch long segments
1 large clove of garlic, smashed
1 tbsp sesame oil
1.5 tsp sole powder
Handful ikan bilis
1L chicken stock
100ml evaporated milk
20-30 gojiberries
4 napa leaves, cut into strips (2 per person)
1 slice of taro, cubed
3 tbsp hua tiao wine or XO brandy
2 tbsp sugar
Bundle of thick rice noodles, cooked
Calamansi chilli sauce for serving

Method
0. Soak gojiberries in RTP water for 15 minutes
1. Steep the chrysanthemum blossoms in 300ml boiling water for 15 minutes
1. Toast the ikan bilis on medium heat in a claypot without oil. When they turn
fragrant, remove from the pot
2. Add sesame oil to the claypot on medium heat
3. Fry the ginger, garlic, and shallot until their fragrance is released
4. Add the toasted ikan bilis, sole powder, celery, and whites of the spring onions
to the pot. Toast the sole powder for 1 minute.
5. Add 1L of chicken stock, 100ml carnation milk and enough chrysanthemum tea
(including flowers) to the claypot until the pot is full. Reserve the remaining
chrysanthemum tea.
6. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes
7. Strain the stock into a new pot
8. Add the napa leaves and taro cubes to the new pot.
9. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add 3 tbsp hua tiao wine and the
soaked gojiberries in the last 5 minutes.
10. Season the stock with 2 tbsp sugar. Thin the stock with chrysanthemum tea if it
is too salty/not floral enough. Add hua tiao wine/brandy if it is not boozy enough.
10. Cut the fish into slices, marinate with salt, white pepper, and hua tiao wine
for 10 minutes
11. Bring the soup to a boil again. Dip the fish slices into it for 2 minutes.
Ensure the soup is simmering after all the fish is added.
12. Remove the fish. Plate and serve the noodles with the soup