The braised dishes with linh fish are characteristic dishes of the Mekong Delta. Today, let’s get cooking with TasteVN to learn 2 delicious and appealing recipes for braised linh fish with pepper and braised with starfruit, which go perfectly with rice!
1. Braised linh fish with pepper
Preparation time
1 hour
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised linh fish with pepper Serves 4
Linh fish 300 gr Hot chili 6 pieces Horn chili 1 piece Lemongrass 2 stalks Shallots 10 gr Green onions 2 stalks Green pepper 2 stalks Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Seasoning a little (salt/sugar/seasoning powder/pepper) Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Filtered water or coconut water 100 ml
Ingredient images
How to make Braised linh fish with pepper
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Prepare the linh fish
Buy the linh fish, clean it, scale it, and rub it with a little salt to remove the slimy smell, then rinse the fish with clean water and let it drain.
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Prepare other ingredients
Take 1/2 of the bird’s eye chili, minced shallots, and lemongrass. Leave the remaining chili whole.
Crush the green pepper.
Cut the green onions into strips. Slice the horned chili.
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Make the caramel sauce
Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, when the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the pan to make the caramel sauce. Cook the sugar over medium heat and stir well until the sugar dissolves and turns a beautiful brown color, then turn off the heat.
Tip:You can buy ready-made caramel sauce at reputable supermarkets and grocery stores or make it at home.
See more: How to make caramel sauce at home to make your stewed dishes more appealing.
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Fish Stew
Place another pan on the stove, add cooking oil, when the oil is hot, add minced lemongrass, chili, shallots, and whole bird’s eye chili to sauté until fragrant.
When the ingredients are aromatic, add 100ml of filtered water or coconut water, all the sauce from the previous cooking, 1/3 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and stir well to dissolve the seasonings completely.
Add the fish to the pan, stir well and stew over high heat until the stew boils and starts to thicken, then turn off the heat and transfer all the fish stew to a clay pot.
Place the pot on the stove and continue to stew over low heat for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens and becomes sticky. Add a tablespoon of fish sauce, stir well and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Finally, add chopped green onions, sliced chili, and crushed green pepper, then turn off the heat.
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Final Product
Not complicated or fancy, fish stew is a rustic dish that’s easy to make yet incredibly delicious and nutritious. The fish is rich, spicy, and fragrant with pepper that stimulates the taste buds immensely. Remember to serve it hot with white rice to fully enjoy the delicious flavors!
2. Braised Linh fish with starfruit
Preparation time
1 hour
Difficulty level
Easy
Ingredients for braised Linh fish with starfruit Serves 4 people
Linh fish 500 gr Sour starfruit 2 fruits Coconut 1 fruit Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Soy sauce 1/2 tablespoon Pepper 1 teaspoon Seasoning a little (salt/sugar/seasoning powder)
How to choose fresh and delicious starfruit
- Choose starfruit that is just ripe, still slightly green, fresh, crispy, without bruises, and no dark spots or dents.
- Do not buy overripe starfruit as it will become mushy and not tasty when cooked.
How to prepare braised Linh fish with starfruit
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Prepare the fish
Clean the Linh fish you bought, scale it, remove the entrails, clean the black membrane inside the fish’s belly, then rub the fish with salt and rinse thoroughly with clean water.
Be careful when gutting the fish to avoid breaking the bile sac, as broken bile will make the fish bitter and unappetizing. If you’re not experienced, you can ask the seller to help gut it for you!
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Prepare other ingredients
Wash the starfruit thoroughly with water, using your hands to scrub the crevices of the starfruit to remove any dirt. Then, use a knife to slice the starfruit horizontally into star-shaped pieces about 1cm thick.
Peel the shallots and garlic, then slice them thinly. Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, wait for the oil to heat up, then add the shallots and garlic and fry until golden and crispy.
Cut the coconut, pour the coconut water into a bowl.
Tips for frying crispy shallots and garlic
- Fry the shallots and garlic in a large amount of oil to achieve a crispy and evenly golden result.
- You should wait for the oil to just start heating before adding the shallots and garlic; don’t add them too early or they will become soft, and don’t add them too late or they will burn.
- When the shallots and garlic start to turn golden, turn off the heat immediately and stir quickly 3 – 4 times with chopsticks, then remove them right away; if you let them turn fully golden before turning off the heat, they will become bitter.
- Before frying, you can sun-dry the shallots and garlic for 1 hour, which will make them crispier.
Tips for storing fried shallots and garlic when not all is used
Store the leftover fried shallots and garlic in a food storage container or a sealed bag, and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about 1 – 2 months.
To prepare the fish braising sauce, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder into a bowl, and stir well until the ingredients are completely dissolved.
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Braised fish
Layer a starfruit at the bottom of the pot, then place the fish on top, add another layer of starfruit, and the fish on top. Pour all the marinated sauce, fried garlic, fried onion, sliced chili, and coconut water into the pot.
Place the pot on the stove and braise the fish over low heat for about 60 minutes until the braising liquid thickens and becomes sticky.
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Final product
Linh fish braised with starfruit is simple to make and has an incredibly appealing flavor. The fish is rich in taste, well-soaked, not falling apart, combined with the sweet and sour taste of starfruit that goes perfectly with rice. On weekends, try cooking this dish for the family to enjoy!
How to choose delicious linh fish
- For a quality dish, you should choose fresh linh fish with moderate weight.
- You should choose fish that are still alive and move actively. Observe the gills; if they are bright red, it means the fish is still alive or just recently died.
- The fish should have shiny scales, intact, and not peeling off too much. It should feel firm to the touch, the flesh should not be mushy, and there should be no unpleasant smell.
Tips to eliminate the fishy smell of linh fish
- Rub the fish with a lot of salt several times, then rinse with clean water.
- Rub the fish with lemon juice or white vinegar and then rinse with clean water to remove the smell.
- Additionally, you can soak the fish for about 10 minutes in diluted white wine and then rinse with clean water.
- Note that you should gut the fish carefully to avoid breaking the gallbladder, which would make the fish bitter and unpleasant to eat.
- To save time, you can ask the seller to clean the fish for you.
See more
2 dishes of braised snakehead fish with pepper and braised snakehead fish with starfruit are really easy to make, aren’t they? Wishing you success in creating 2 delicious dishes for your family!
*Refer to images and recipes on the YouTube channel Citi Media and Cookpad
