When it comes to braised dishes, no one can resist the sweet and salty sauce that brings the essence of home-cooked flavors. So don’t hesitate any longer, let’s get into the kitchen with TasteVN to make these 2 extremely easy dishes: catfish braised with pickled vegetables and Vietnamese cilantro!
1. Catfish braised with pickled vegetables
Preparation
30 minutes
Cooking
40 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Catfish Braised with Pickled Vegetables For 4 people
Catfish 500 gr Pickled vegetables 300 gr Tomatoes 2 pieces Minced garlic 1 teaspoon Minced shallots 1 teaspoon Ginger 1 piece Turmeric 1 piece Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (Salt/ Seasoning/ MSG/ Sugar)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh pickled vegetables
- First, you should buy pickled vegetables from reputable places to ensure that the pickled vegetables are made from fresh cabbage without bruises or preservatives.
- If you buy pre-packaged ones, you should check the expiration date, whether the packaging is intact, and importantly, if the pickled vegetables have any mold or bubbles.
- Delicious pickled vegetables with the right level of sourness will have a yellow or earthy yellow color; on the contrary, if the pickled vegetables are still green, it means they haven’t been salted long enough, they will still have a spicy taste, not delicious, and will affect the flavor of the dish.
- Additionally, you can also easily make pickled vegetables at home.
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- Good tomatoes are those with bright red skin, intact and even-colored, without any scratches.
- Tomatoes with a mild fragrance are natural ripe tomatoes; conversely, if you don’t smell any fragrance, those are tomatoes that have been artificially ripened and will not be fresh.
- You can also choose tomatoes based on the stem; if the stem is still fresh, not wilted, and firmly attached to the tomato, then these are fresh, natural tomatoes. On the other hand, tomatoes without stems or with easily detached stems should not be purchased.
See details: How to choose quality tomatoes
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How to Cook Catfish with Pickled Mustard Greens
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Prepare the catfish
After buying the catfish, rub 3 tablespoons of salt over the outer skin and then add 2 cups of warm water to mix the fish for 5 minutes. When you see the slime has come off, proceed to scrape it clean and then rinse with clean water.
Next, cut off the head and gills, gut the fish to remove any accumulated blood and waste, then rinse several times with water until the fish is completely clean.
Finally, cut into bite-sized pieces and let them drain.
Tip: To save time, you can buy pre-cleaned fish at markets or supermarkets; in that case, you just need to clean the slime off the catfish.
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Marinate the catfish
Once the catfish is drained, marinate it with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce.
Mix well to allow the fish to absorb the spices for 15 minutes.
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Prepare other ingredients
Remove the stem from the tomatoes, wash them thoroughly, and let them dry. Then remove the core and cut them into wedges.
Wash the ginger and turmeric until clean, then slice them into small pieces.
For pickled vegetables, cut them into 3 – 4 bite-sized pieces.
Tip:
- You can buy pre-made pickled vegetables and simply rinse them with water before use.
- When preparing tomatoes, you can remove the seeds to prevent your dish from becoming watery.
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Fish Stew
Put a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil with medium heat. When the oil is hot, add all the catfish and stir-fry briefly for about 5 minutes until the fish is firm.
Then turn off the heat, set the fish aside, and place another pot on the stove, adding 1 tablespoon of cooking oil with high heat.
When the oil is bubbling, add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of minced shallots to sauté until fragrant. Next, add all the pickled mustard greens, 200ml of water, and half of the ginger and turmeric, stirring well for about 5 minutes.
Next, gently add the catfish from the pan into the pot, reduce the heat to low, and stew the fish for 30 minutes so that the sauce thickens and absorbs into the fish.
Finally, add all the tomatoes and stew for another 10 minutes, then season to taste, adding the remaining ginger and turmeric before turning off the heat.
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Finished Product
It can be said that this braised catfish with sour pickles dish is truly enticing, isn’t it? With the sweet and nutritious flavor of the fish combined with the sourness of the pickles mixed with a bit of tomato, and most importantly, the caramelized sauce, all create a dish that no one can resist.
The braised catfish with sour pickles when eaten with a bowl of white rice, especially crispy rice, is indeed unmatched. Let’s not just talk about it, let’s enjoy our finished product right away!
2. Braised Catfish with Vietnamese Rice Patty
Preparation
30 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised Catfish with Vietnamese Rice Patty Serves 4
Catfish 400 gr Vietnamese rice patty 50 gr Bird’s eye chili 5 pieces Minced garlic 1 teaspoon Fish sauce 4 tablespoons Rock salt 1 teaspoon Common spices a little (Seasoning/ Sugar/ MSG/ Pepper/ Salt)
How to Choose Fresh Vietnamese Rice Patty
- Good Vietnamese rice patty has small leaves, bright green color, a faint aromatic smell, is not wilted or bruised, and does not have any strange odors.
- On the contrary, Vietnamese rice patty with too large leaves will not taste as good as those with small leaves.
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How to Prepare Braised Catfish with Vietnamese Balm
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Prepare and Marinate the Catfish
After buying the catfish, add some salt to wash the fish to remove the slime, then rinse with clean water and let it drain.
When the fish is dry, marinate it with 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and mix well to absorb the seasoning for 15 minutes.
Then discard all the fish water and add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to marinate for another 15 minutes.
Tip: When removing the slime from the catfish, you can use lemon or vinegar to help eliminate the fishy smell and clean the slime faster than just using salt.
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Prepare Other Ingredients
Pick off any wilted or damaged leaves from the Vietnamese balm, wash it clean, then cut it into pieces.
Wash the chili peppers and let them drain.
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Caramelizing sugar
Place a pot on the stove and add 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and 5 tablespoons of water to caramelize the sugar over medium heat.
When the sugar water turns a golden brown color, add all the fish in.
Tip:
- You can use coconut caramel instead of caramelizing sugar.
- To achieve a beautiful golden color for the dish, gently turn the fish continuously when adding it to ensure it is evenly coated with the caramel sauce.
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Braised fish
Proceed to braise the fish for 20 minutes over low heat.
When the fish sauce has thickened, season it to taste, then add the Vietnamese coriander and bird’s eye chili before turning off the heat.
Tip: To avoid burning the fish and affecting the dish’s flavor, do not braise the fish for too long, which may result in the sauce evaporating.
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Final Product
Indeed, the effort put in has paid off, hasn’t it? This braised catfish with rice paddy herb has captivated many with its rustic and rich countryside flavor; the catfish is soft and fatty when braised together with the natural spiciness of rice paddy herb, creating a truly wonderful combination.
The braised catfish with rice paddy herb, when served with a bowl of white rice at any meal, is simply irresistible due to its allure. Let’s enjoy the final product!
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How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Catfish
- When choosing catfish, you should first pay attention to the eyes. If the eyes are clear, bright, and slightly bulging, that means the fish is still fresh.
- The outer skin of the fish should be shiny and smooth, and when pressed, the flesh should feel firm. Avoid choosing fish that are soft and pale, as that indicates the fish has gone bad.
- You can also rely on the smell to determine whether the catfish is fresh or not. Since catfish are river fish, they should smell like pond water; if you detect a fishy or unpleasant odor, the fish has gone bad.
See details: How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Catfish
How to remove the slime layer from catfish
- The characteristic of catfish is that it has a layer of slime on its skin, so to remove the slime as well as eliminate the fishy smell, you can use kitchen ash to scrub the skin of the catfish, then use a knife to scrape off the slime and rinse it clean.
- Another common method to remove the slime is to use salt to scrub the entire body of the catfish, then scrape off the slime with a knife and rinse it clean.
- Additionally, you can also use warm water to soak the fish for about 5 – 10 minutes and then scrape it off with a knife, or use rice washing water to scrub off the slime, which is also very effective. However, please note not to use water that is too hot as it can cause the fish skin to peel off, affecting the flavor of the dish.
See more:
The article above has provided you with 2 ways to make catfish stew that are really easy but very rice-friendly. Wishing you success and a delicious meal with your family!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel: Bếp Quê and the website cooky.vn
