When mentioning saltwater fish, it would be a mistake to overlook the grilled fish. Grilled fish can be prepared into many different dishes that captivate the heart, especially braised dishes. Now, let’s get cooking with TasteVN to make two familiar dishes that go well with rice, which are grilled fish with pepper and braised fish in clay pot!
1. Grilled Fish with Pepper
Preparation
25 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Grilled Fish with Pepper For 4 people
Grilled fish 400 gr Fresh coconut water 150 ml Minced shallots 2 teaspoons Minced garlic 1 teaspoon Bird’s eye chili 3 pieces Green onions 5 stalks Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Soy sauce 1/2 tablespoon Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common seasoning a little (Seasoning powder/ Salt/ Sugar/ MSG/ Ground pepper)
Ingredient Images
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How to Cook Braised Sea Fish with Pepper
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Prepare the sea fish
When buying sea fish, remove the head, gut it, and scale it.
Rinse the fish briefly with salt to remove all the slime and dirt. Then wash it clean with water and let it drain.
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Prepare other ingredients
Green onions, remove the roots and cut off the tails, wash them clean and let them drain. Then cut the tops of the onions separately, and cut the stems into bite-sized pieces.
Chili peppers, remove the stems, wash them clean and let them drain. Next, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Tip:
- To avoid damaging the green onions and making them wilt, make sure to let them drain thoroughly before cutting!
- The chili seeds are very hot and can burn the skin, so you might want to wear gloves while preparing to avoid blisters on your hands.
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Marinate the fish
When the sea fish is drained, marinate it with 1 teaspoon of salt.
Tip: To make the fish meat firmer and not mushy when braising, you should briefly marinate the fish with salt!
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Fish Stewing
Place a pot on the stove over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
When the oil is hot and has small bubbles, add 2 teaspoons of minced shallots, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and chopped bird’s eye chili, then sauté for fragrance.
Next, add all the fish and stir well over medium heat for about 3 minutes to firm up the fish.
Then, season with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Stir well over low heat for the fish to absorb the spices and start stewing for about 10 minutes.
Add 1/2 tablespoon of caramel sauce and stir well.
When the fish has absorbed the flavors, add half a cup of warm water and continue to stew over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens and add the green onions.
When the fish starts to thicken and the water reduces, adjust the seasoning to your taste, then add all the chopped green onions and turn off the heat.
Tip:
- To enhance the flavor and make the dish more delicious, you should use a clay pot instead of stainless steel or aluminum pots.
- Instead of stewing with warm water, you can use fresh coconut water for a richer flavor.
- Fish is very delicate and can break easily, so remember to turn it gently to avoid breaking the fish!
- You can replace the caramel sauce by caramelizing sugar to give the fish a natural color.
- When you see the fish sauce has thickened, you can turn off the heat and wait until it’s time to serve to reheat. This is often referred to as “two-fire fish stew.”
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Final Product
Braised fish with pepper is a dish that is very easy to make and quick to prepare, but that doesn’t mean it will disappoint anyone. The fish is tender, a perfect combination of the sweetness of the fish meat, the richness of the braising sauce, and the spicy kick of ground pepper. Its flavor is irresistible.
What could be better than enjoying it with a bowl of white rice and hot crispy rice? Now, let’s enjoy the final product right away!
2. Braised fish in clay pot
Preparation
25 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised Croaker Serves 4
Croaker 500 gr Pork belly 100 gr Green onions 2 stalks Bird’s eye chili 3 pieces Chopped shallots 1 teaspoon Fish sauce 5 tablespoons Oyster sauce 1 tablespoon Chili sauce 3 tablespoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common seasoning to taste (Salt/Sugar/MSG/Ground pepper)
How to Choose Fresh Pork Belly
- You should choose pork belly that has a light red or bright pink color, with a layer of fat in between that is bright white, firm to the touch, and has good elasticity.
- The meat and fat should be closely adhered together, and when you pick it up, you can feel the firmness of the meat.
- To avoid feeling greasy when eating, you should pay attention to choose meat with a balanced ratio of fat and meat.
- The most important thing when choosing meat is to avoid meat that has a rancid or strange smell; that indicates old meat that has been left for a day. Fresh meat will have a characteristic fragrant smell.
See details: How to Choose Good Pork Belly for Meals
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How to Prepare Braised Croaker
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Prepare the Croaker
After buying the croaker, remove all the slime and dirt by taking out the intestines and scrubbing the fish with salt.
Then rinse it thoroughly with water and cut it in half to drain.
Tip: When preparing the fish, you can leave the head on, as it will provide more nutrients when braised.
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Prepare other ingredients
Pork belly should be washed with salt water and then rinsed with clean water. After that, cut it into bite-sized pieces and let it drain.
Green onions should have their roots removed, cut off the ends, and washed clean to drain. Next, cut the green onion heads into two parts: diced and chopped. The stems should be diced.
Chili peppers should have their stems removed, washed clean to drain, and chopped finely.
Tip:
- To avoid being overwhelmed while eating, when cutting the meat, you should cut pieces that have both lean and fatty parts.
- If you are worried that the meat will have an unpleasant smell, you can eliminate the odor simply by blanching the meat briefly in boiling water or rinsing it with white wine.
- Before cooking the meat, you can also marinate it briefly with crushed roasted onion to effectively eliminate the smell.
See details: Tips to eliminate the smell of various meats that women should know
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Stir-fry the meat
After preparation, place a pan on the stove over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add 2 tablespoons of sugar water to caramelize for a beautiful color. When it starts to turn a brown color, add the diced green onion and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic to sauté until fragrant and golden.
Next, add the pork belly and stir-fry evenly over medium heat until the meat is firm.
Then add 150 ml of water, 5 tablespoons of fish sauce until it boils, then add the chopped green onion and chili, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of chili sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1.5 teaspoons of monosodium glutamate and stir well.
Tip:
- If you don’t have time to caramelize the sugar, you can replace it with coconut water, which also gives the fish a very appealing color.
- The pork belly should be stir-fried until the fat is rendered out to create a rich flavor for the dish.
- To enhance the flavor, you can replace the water with fresh coconut water.
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Fish Braise
When the water boils again, add all the fish and reduce the heat.
Stir evenly until the sauce thickens and becomes syrupy, then season to taste and turn off the heat, and the dish is complete.
Tip: To keep the fish tender and sweet, you should braise it on low heat, and don’t rush.
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Final Product
It can be said that braised fish is definitely worth trying at least once. It will surely leave everyone enchanted by its flavor. The fish is tender and sweet, blending perfectly with the fatty taste of pork belly, but one cannot overlook the characteristic thick sauce, and biting into a piece of chili completes the flavor. It is truly worth a try.
It becomes even more enticing when served with white rice, especially crispy rice. Just mentioning this makes one eager; let’s enjoy it together!
How to choose fresh and delicious fish
- Live fish are always the freshest and most delicious, so you should choose those that swim actively, energetically, with clear eyes, shiny scales, and firm flesh when touched.
As for fish that have been cleaned and prepared, you should not choose those with cloudy eyes, soft flesh, and especially those that have a foul smell, indicating they have spoiled.
See details: How to choose fresh, quality fish
How to remove the fishy smell from fish
- To enhance the flavor of the dish, you can remove the fishy smell from fish by washing it with green tea or dry tea. Washing with fresh tea will be more effective in reducing the fishy smell.
- Rice washing water is also considered a very effective and convenient way to eliminate odors. After preparing the fish, soak it in rice washing water for about 15 – 20 minutes and then rinse with clean water until dry.
- Alcohol and white vinegar are also optimal choices for removing the fishy smell. Just mix a few tablespoons of alcohol or white vinegar into water, then soak the fish for 5 – 10 minutes and rinse thoroughly to eliminate the smell effectively.
See more:
The article above has provided you with 2 ways to make sole fish stew with pepper and clay pot to make family meals together more cozy. Wishing you success and a delicious meal with your family!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel: Kimtrinh vlog and RuY Channel.
