Curry is a quite popular dish during Tet holidays or simply on weekends to change the taste for the family. Let’s go to the kitchen today to make 2 delicious ways of cooking mackerel and salmon curry!
1. Mackerel Curry
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Mackerel Curry For 2 people
Mackerel 700 gr Eggplant 1 piece Potato 2 pieces Carrot 1 piece Basil 20 gr Lemongrass 2 stalks Curry powder 1 packet (100gr) Coconut milk 400 ml Shallots 2 pieces Garlic 4 cloves Chili 2 pieces Cooking oil 4 tablespoons Common spices A little (salt/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning/ sugar)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to buy delicious mackerel
- You should choose mackerel with clear, shiny eyes that show the pupil and are bulging. Do not choose those with cloudy, red, or sunken eyes as these fish are not fresh and have been stored for a long time.
- Press the flesh of the fish with your hand, choose those with firm, elastic flesh that is not slimy.
- Flip the gills to observe, choose fish with pinkish-red gills that still have a fresh sheen. Do not choose fish with bruised or pale green gills.
- Do not choose fish that show signs of being bruised, slimy, mushy, or with a soft, bruised belly.
How to buy delicious eggplant
- You should choose eggplants that have intact skin, shiny, smooth, and even in color.
- When picked up, they should feel firm, not too light, and when pressed gently, they should not be too hard, and no liquid should come out to be suitable for purchase.
- Choose those that still have the stem on top, where the stem and body are connected, indicating they are still fresh.
- You can gently press on the eggplant; if it leaves an imprint on the skin, it is ripe.
How to choose good potatoes
- Choose potatoes that are firm, heavy, intact, and have a smooth skin surface.
- Yellow potatoes will be tastier and sweeter compared to those that are slightly white.
- Avoid selecting wrinkled potatoes, those that feel soft when squeezed, or have black spots, are rotten, or leaking.
- Absolutely do not choose potatoes with green skin or sprouted potatoes as they are extremely dangerous to health.
How to choose good carrots
- Choose carrots that are of moderate size, have a long and straight shape towards the tail, with a smooth skin, firm to hold, and slightly hard.
- Select carrots that are bright, deep orange in color, and have fresh green leaves tightly attached to the root.
- Avoid choosing overly large carrots, with thick and large leaves and stems at the base and shoulders of the root.
Coconut milk: You can buy it at markets, food stores, or supermarkets in convenient canned form, especially this product is available at stores and on the TasteVN website. Additionally, you can also make coconut milk at home very simply and ensure health safety.
How to make Mackerel Curry
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Prepare the vegetables
Potatoes, peel, wash, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Carrots also need to be peeled, washed, and cut into pieces about 2 – 2.5cm long.
Eggplants should be washed and cut into pieces about 2 – 2.5cm long.
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Prepare the mackerel
Bring the mackerel home, remove the intestines, cut into horizontal slices about 1cm thick (you can ask someone to help you cut), then soak in diluted salt water for about 5 minutes and wash several times with water, then let it drain.
How to clean fish without a fishy smell: You can gently rub the fish or soak it in water with ingredients like: lemon or vinegar, salt, white wine, smashed or sliced ginger. Soak for about 10 – 15 minutes. After that, wash it several times with water to clean.
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Prepare the spices
Peel the garlic and shallots, crush and chop finely. Remove the outer layer of the lemongrass, wash the tender ends, then crush and chop finely.
Crush the chili, and pick the tender leaves of the basil.
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Marinate the fish
Put the cut fish into a bowl along with the ingredients: a little lemongrass and minced garlic and shallots, 1 teaspoon of seasoning, a little monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/2 packet of curry powder, then mix well and marinate for about 15 minutes for the fish to absorb the flavors.
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Frying Fish
Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and heat it up, then arrange the fish evenly in the pan and fry over medium heat until the fish is firm and lightly golden on both sides.
Tip:
- You should fry the fish until it is golden on one side before flipping it to avoid breaking it if it’s not golden when turned.
- Use a non-stick pan to fry the fish without breaking it and making it easier.
- Arrange the fish evenly; if the pan is small, you can divide the fish into batches. Avoid stacking them, as this will make them easily break and not cook evenly.
- Frying the fish will help it stay firm, and when cooking the fish curry, it will not become mushy or fall apart.
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Stir-frying Vegetables
Reuse the bowl that was used to marinate the fish to add the prepared vegetables along with 1/2 packet of curry powder, a little monosodium glutamate, a little salt, and a little seasoning powder, then stir well to let the vegetables absorb the flavors.
Place a pot on the stove and heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, then add the remaining minced lemongrass and garlic and sauté for about 2 – 3 minutes over medium heat, then add 2 crushed chili peppers.
Next, add the marinated vegetables and stir-fry over medium heat for about 5 – 7 minutes.
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Cooking curry
Pour filtered water into the bowl that was used to marinate the fish and vegetables to rinse off the seasoning, then pour it into the pot with the sautéed vegetables. Add more filtered water until you have a total of 2 liters. Cover and cook for about 30 – 40 minutes until the ingredients are soft over low heat.
Then add the eggplant and season with: 1 teaspoon of salt, 1.5 teaspoons of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and stir well. You can adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Next, add the fried fish and pour in 400ml of coconut milk. If you want your curry to be thick, you can mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 20ml of water and pour it into the curry pot, adding it gradually while stirring the curry mixture. Cook on medium heat for another 5 – 10 minutes and then turn off the heat.
When serving, add a little basil to create a fragrant aroma.
Tip:
- You can use chopsticks or a skewer to poke the carrot and potato to check; if it goes in easily, the potato and carrot are cooked through.
- You can use fresh coconut water instead of filtered water to cook the curry for a more delicious flavor.
- If using for dipping with bread, you can use less water to make it thicker.
- If using to eat with rice noodles or flat noodles, you can add more water, and the curry mixture will be thinner. Remember to adjust the seasoning to your taste.
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Finished product
The curry dish is fragrant, the broth is incredibly rich and aromatic, with a harmonious balance of salty and sweet flavors that will make you exclaim in delight. It’s even better when paired with bread or noodles. Hurry up and get into the kitchen to make it right away.
2. Salmon curry
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
50 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Salmon Curry Serves 3 people
Salmon fillet 1 piece (400gr) White wine A little Onion 1 bulb Cilantro A little Roasted dill A little (powdered or seed form) Tomato 1 fruit Chili powder 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder A little Garlic 3 cloves Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Cilantro A little Salt A little
How to choose good onions
- You should choose round onions with long roots as these are the good ones. Do not buy bulbs with unusual shapes or those completely missing their roots as they will not taste good.
- Good onions will have a firm, smooth skin, beautiful yellow color, without any dark spots, sliminess, and will hug the bulb tightly.
How to prepare Salmon Curry
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Prepare the salmon
Use tweezers to remove any remaining bones from the salmon fillet, then soak it in diluted salt water with a little white wine for about 10 minutes and rinse it clean with water.
Use a knife to cut the salmon into small square pieces of 3cm with a thickness of about 0.5 – 1cm.
How to prepare salmon without a fishy smell
- You can soak the whole piece of salmon in lemon or vinegar, diluted white wine with sliced ginger for about 10 minutes.
- Gently massage the salmon with salt, lemon, wine, or ginger and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse with water.
- Soak the salmon in fresh milk for about 10 minutes, then rinse with water.
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Marinate the salmon
Place the marinated salmon on a plate and sprinkle a little salt on the surface of the fish, using your hands to gently rub so the salmon absorbs the salt evenly on both sides. Marinate for about 10 minutes.
Heat a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and heat it up, then place the marinated fish in to sear both sides for about 1 minute on medium heat, then turn off the heat, remove the fish and place it on a plate to drain the oil.
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Prepare the vegetables
Wash the vegetables thoroughly, then peel and dice the onion and dice the tomato.
Peel and mince the garlic. Chop the cilantro.
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Make curry sauce
Using the pan you just used to fry the fish, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it, then add the onion and sauté until golden brown. Next, add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder, a bit of coriander powder, and 50ml of water. Mix the ingredients and cook for about 6 – 8 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.
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Cook curry
Add 200ml of water (or the amount of water you desire) to the sauce in the pan, mix well for about 2 minutes, then add the fried salmon.
Use a spoon to drizzle the sauce over the salmon to absorb the flavor, cover and cook for about 8 minutes over medium heat to finish.
Tip: You can adjust the seasoning to suit your family’s taste!
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Final product
Turn off the heat and sprinkle a little roasted dill powder and fresh coriander on top of the dish to complete it.
Salmon curry gives you a new and unique curry cooking recipe, with delicious flavors that are intriguing for the family. The soft and fatty salmon meat blends with the tangy sauce along with the fragrant ingredients, and the spicy taste of chili served with hot rice will make you unable to stop eating!
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Hope this article brings you another delicious and nutritious fish curry recipe for your family. Wish you success in your cooking. Check out more recipes in the cooking section!
* Refer to the image sources and recipes from 2 YouTube channels: Wife’s Kitchen, Banglar Rannaghor.
