On a cold rainy day, there’s nothing better than a pot of braised mackerel. Braised mackerel with pork belly is both fragrant and incredibly delicious, perfect for accompanying rice. Let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to make these 2 delicious dishes right away!
1. Braised mackerel with pork belly and galangal
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
4 hours
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised mackerel with pork belly and galangal Serves 8
Mackerel 2 kg Pork belly 800 gr (or fatty shoulder pork) Fresh galangal 300 gr Fresh coconut water 700 ml Red onion 200 gr Garlic 100 gr Chili 100 gr Lemon 1 fruit Black peppercorns 50 gr White wine 50 ml Caramel sauce 1 tablespoon (coloring sauce) Fish sauce 150 ml Common seasoning a little (salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate)
How to cook mackerel braised with pork belly and galangal
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Prepare the mackerel
After buying, clean the mackerel, remove the head, tail, and all the internal organs, then rinse thoroughly.
Add 50ml of white wine to a basin of water, then soak the cleaned fish for 5 minutes.
Take the fish out and let it drain in a colander.
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Prepare the pork belly
Wash the pork with salt and lemon, then remove and let it drain.
Cut the pork into square pieces about 2 fingers wide.
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Prepare other ingredients
You put the peeled garlic and onion into the grinder and grind until smooth.
Tip: You can also chop the garlic and onion finely if you don’t have a grinder!You put the ground onion into a bowl, add 150ml of fish sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, 3 teaspoons of monosodium glutamate and pepper, and stir well until the spices dissolve. Then add 1 tablespoon of color sauce and mix well.
Wash the galanga thoroughly and then slice it thinly.
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Fish Stew
You take a large pot, place galangal at the bottom of the pot, followed by pork belly, and finally the fish. Leave the chili peppers whole and place them on top, then add the stew sauce and marinate for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add 400ml of coconut water to the pot, then put it on the stove to stew for about 3.5 hours.
Initially, turn the heat to high; once the water boils, reduce the heat to low, cover, and continue to stew. When the coconut water evaporates, add another 300ml of coconut water and continue stewing.
After 2.5 hours, open the lid and continue to stew on low heat for another hour.
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Final Product
This dish is especially suitable for cold rainy days; served with hot rice, you will just want to scrape the pot clean.
The fish is tender, the pork belly is rich and flavorful, combined with the fragrant galangal, making it very appetizing!
2. Mackerel Braised with Pork Belly
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Mackerel Braised with Pork Belly Serves 2
Mackerel 2 fish Pork belly 200 gr Lemon 1/2 fruit Green onions 2 stalks Garlic 3 cloves Chili 2 fruits Chili powder a little Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Common spices a little (salt/ pepper/ seasoning powder/ sugar)
Ingredients Image
How to Cook Mackerel Braised with Pork Belly
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Prepare the Ingredients
Wash the pork belly with water mixed with lemon and salt, then drain. Next, slice the meat into thin pieces.
Wash the green onions and drain, then chop the leaves finely. For the green onion bulbs, chop them finely.
Peel and finely chop the garlic.
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Prepare and marinate the fish
Buy mackerel, clean it, remove the intestines, and wash the back to remove blood so that the fish does not smell.
After washing, let it drain and cut the fish in half to make it easier to flip during cooking.
Place the fish on a plate and add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of seasoning, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, half of the chopped green onion, half of the minced garlic, then mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.
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Fry the meat
You put a pan on the stove, add the pork belly along with a little salt, and fry the meat briefly until the edges are burnt and the fat renders out.
Then you take the meat out and place it in a bowl to drain the fat.
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Braised fish
In the remaining fat in the pan, you continue to turn on the heat, add 1 tablespoon of sugar to caramelize.
When the sugar melts, stir until it turns a golden brown color, then add the chopped green onions and garlic to sauté until fragrant.
Next, add the fish and fry on high heat for 1 minute. Add the marinade for the fish, stir the fish to coat, then add the meat and stir well.
Pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan, braise the fish over medium heat. While braising, remember to flip the fish to ensure it absorbs the seasoning evenly!
After 10 minutes, when the braising liquid has reduced to half, add 2 chili peppers and a little chili powder along with the remaining chopped green onions and garlic.
Continue braising for another 5 minutes, then add chopped green onions and pepper before turning off the heat.
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Final Product
The braised fish is both spicy and fragrant, the fish is tender, infused with spices, and the pork belly is fried crispy and fragrant, served with white rice and cucumber is simply unmatched!
How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Mackerel
- The freshest fish is still alive; you should choose those that swim vigorously, have clear eyes, pink gills, shiny scales, and skin without strange colors.
- In addition, if you see fish showing abnormal signs like bloating, swimming weakly, or having a pale color, you should not choose to buy them.
- The fish’s eyes should be clear, bright, not cloudy, and slightly bulging. The cornea should be elastic.
- The gills of the fish should be pink-red, tightly attached to the body, and not slimy.
- The flesh of the fish should be firm, tightly bound, and have high elasticity.
Effective ways to eliminate fishy odor
- When washing fish, you can mix a few tablespoons of alcohol or white vinegar into the water, then soak the fish for about 5 minutes and rinse it thoroughly with water.
- You can mix a little salt into the water (making it slightly salty) and soak the fish for about 5 – 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can rub salt onto the fish, then scale it and proceed to clean it. Using salt can reduce the sliminess of the fish and effectively eliminate the fishy odor. Finally, just rinse the fish with water before cooking.
How to choose fresh and delicious pork belly
- Fresh and delicious pork belly has a dry outer layer, light red or bright pink color. When cut with a knife, the meat will appear pinkish-white, slightly shiny, and the fat layers in between are bright white and firm.
- To choose a good piece of meat that is not too greasy due to excess fat or too dry due to mostly lean meat, you should select a piece with a balanced ratio of fat to lean meat.
- Delicious, clean pork belly, not raised with lean meat enhancers, usually has a firm texture, with the meat and fat tightly bound together, and when picked up, it does not feel too loose.
Effective ways to remove the smell of pork
- Fresh pork bought should be cleaned and placed into a pot containing clean water such that the water just covers the surface of the meat. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil for about 2 – 3 minutes, quickly remove the meat, and rinse it with clean water to effectively eliminate the smell.
- A common and more frequently used method is to dissolve coarse salt in water, soak all the cleaned meat for 25 – 30 minutes. After the time is up, take the meat out and rinse it under running water.
- During the soaking process, you can add a few crushed ginger slices or a few drops of white wine to help clean your meat better.
These 2 dishes of mackerel braised with pork belly are really simple, aren’t they? TasteVN guarantees that this delicious and appealing dish will make your whole family jump for joy!
