To make your family meals more flavorful, immediately note down two dishes: grilled kingfish with pepper and pickled fish, both delicious and simple to prepare at home for your family. Let’s get cooking these two delicious dishes!
1. Grilled kingfish with pepper

-
Preparation
30 minutes
-
Cooking
30 minutes
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Grilled Kingfish with Pepper For 4 people
Kingfish fillet 3 pieces Garlic 6 cloves Shallots 2 bulbs Chili 1 piece Caramel sauce 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common seasoning a little (sugar/ seasoning powder/ pepper/ salt)
Ingredient image
How to cook Grilled Kingfish with Pepper
-
Prepare the kingfish
Wash the kingfish fillet, soak in diluted salt for 10 minutes to remove impurities, then rinse with clean water 2 – 3 times and let it drain.
-
Prepare other ingredients
You peel the shallots, garlic, and chili stems. Next, put the ingredients into a mortar along with 3 teaspoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, and then pound them finely.
After that, add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce to the mortar and mix the seasonings well.
-
Marinate mackerel
To keep the mackerel meat tender and not dry when braising, you marinate the fish with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil along with all the seasonings just pounded and 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce.
You mix the seasonings well with the fish, add 1 teaspoon of pepper, then cover tightly and marinate for 20 minutes to let the fish absorb the flavors evenly.
-
Braised Mackerel
You put the fish in a pot with the marinade, place it on the stove over high heat, and braise until the fish firms up and the sauce boils vigorously. To enhance the flavor, you can add 3 more teaspoons of sugar or adjust according to your family’s taste.
After 15 minutes, you lower the heat and continue to braise until the sauce thickens and the fish is tender.
-
Final Product
The fillets of braised mackerel are cooked just right, sweet, tender, and especially well-infused with flavor, rich with a strong aroma of pepper.
To make the dish even more delicious and the meal more complete, you can boil some vegetables and eat them with hot rice, which is wonderful!
2. Braised Mackerel with Pickled Vegetables

-
Preparation
30 minutes
-
Processing
30 minutes
-
Difficulty Level
Easy
Ingredients for Braised Mackerel with Pickled Vegetables Serves 4
Mackerel fillet 200 gr Pickled vegetables 100 gr Green onions A little (chopped) Chili 2 pieces Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon Common seasonings A little (pepper/ sugar/ salt)
How to choose delicious pickled cucumbers
- You should choose pickled cucumbers that are yellow to orange in color, as these pickled cucumbers have the right level of sourness for cooking soup. Pickled cucumbers that are still green are not sour enough, still spicy, and lack sourness.
- Do not choose jars of pickles with a film floating on top, as these jars may have been pickled for too long and could be spoiled or too sour to taste good.
- Additionally, you can pickle cucumbers at home to ensure quality!
How to prepare fish braised with pickled cucumber
-
Prepare the fish
Wash the fish thoroughly with water, cut into bite-sized pieces, and drain.
-
Prepare other ingredients
Wash the pickled cucumbers with 2 – 3 washes of water, then slice into bite-sized pieces and drain. Wash the chili.
-
Marinate the fish
Marinate the fish with 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 3 teaspoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt for 15 – 30 minutes to allow the spices to penetrate the fish evenly.
-
Stewing the swordfish
You put the swordfish into a pot, place it on the stove, cover it, then turn on medium heat and start stewing the fish.
When the fish meat is firm, you flip the fish over, add all the pickled vegetables, stir well, then add 1 cup of water to the pot, increase the heat, and stew until the water boils vigorously.
After 10 minutes, the fish meat is cooked, the pickled vegetables are soft, you add finely chopped green onions and turn off the heat.
-
Final product
The swordfish is chewy, fragrant, and evenly absorbed with spices, with turmeric making the fish not only visually appealing but also more aromatic. The pickled vegetables are crunchy, the stew broth is rich, picking up a piece of fish and enjoying it with rice and pickled vegetables is fantastic.
If you like it spicy, you can add a few slices of finely chopped chili to enhance the flavor and make the dish more visually appealing!
How to choose fresh, delicious swordfish fillets
- Choose a piece of swordfish fillet that is cleaned of bones, has firm flesh, a light pink color, and when pressed, the fish does not feel mushy, slimy, and has no strange smell. Additionally, the fish skin must be well-scaled, smooth, and not too flaky or peeling.
- To have a delicious and satisfying swordfish fillet, you can opt to buy fillets sold in large stores or supermarkets, with packaging that is carefully sealed, detailing the place and date of production, and expiration date.
How to remove the fishy smell of swordfish
To remove the fishy smell of swordfish, you can choose one of the following methods to perform:
- Method 1: Use salt to rub the entire body of the fish for about 2 – 3 minutes, then rinse with water to remove the fishy smell.
- Method 2: Use a little alcohol mixed with water and soak the fish for about 1 minute, then rub the entire body of the fish to help clean it and eliminate the fishy smell.
- Method 3: Using a diluted mixture of vinegar/lemon water to wash the fish is also effective in removing the fishy smell.
Not too complicated or time-consuming, the two dishes fish simmered with pepper and sour pickles are ready for you and your family to have a delicious meal!
*Refer to images and recipes from YouTube channels Vlog He Đây and Mai Râng TV.