1. Sweet and sour soup with mackerel head and water spinach
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Preparation
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sweet and sour soup with mackerel head and water spinach For 3 people
Mackerel head 500 gr Water spinach 200 gr Mint 200 gr Okra 200 gr Garlic 4 cloves Shallots 3 bulbs Chili 3 pieces Tamarind 70 gr Fish sauce 1.5 teaspoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Rock sugar 1.5 tablespoons Herbs 200 gr (coriander/celery) Common seasoning a little (Salt/sugar/seasoning powder)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh water spinach
- Good water spinach is the one with stems not too thick, only about the thickness of a chopstick or less, small tips, quite firm, and when the stems are broken, there is a light sap.
- Do not buy water spinach that is shiny green and larger than usual as it may have been treated with chemicals.
How to choose good okra
- You should buy fresh, young okra that is small in size. Avoid choosing large okra as they are mature and not tasty.
- Do not buy okra that is soft or has bruises on the outside.
How to prepare Sour Fish Head Soup with Water Spinach
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Prepare the ingredients
When buying mackerel, ask the seller to cut it into small pieces and clean it, removing the fishy blood, then rinse 2 – 3 times with cold water, and rub with salt.
Pick the young leaves of water spinach, wash thoroughly, and drain. Clean the mint and okra, then cut them diagonally.
Put tamarind in a pot, pour about 350ml of hot water, and use a spoon to mash the tamarind to extract the juice.
Peel and wash the onion and garlic, then mince them. Mince the chili.
How to reduce itching when preparing mint (water spinach):
After cutting the mint diagonally, soak it twice in strong salt water, then rinse several times with cold water to reduce itching.
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Final Product
The sour soup is tangy and sweet, with the fish just cooked, not mushy or fishy, along with the attractive colors of water spinach, okra, and mint. Serve with herbs like Vietnamese coriander, cilantro, and rice paddy herb to enhance the flavor!
2. Sour soup with mackerel head and pickled bamboo shoots
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Preparation
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for sour soup with mackerel head and pickled bamboo shoots For 4 people
Mackerel head 500 gr Pickled bamboo shoots 300 gr Tomatoes 2 pieces Shallots 2 bulbs Spring onions 3 stalks Chili 1 piece Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Fish sauce 2 teaspoons Seasoning salt/salt/msg A little
How to choose delicious sour bamboo shoots
- You should choose sour bamboo shoots that have a characteristic fragrant smell, are not floating, and have bright colors.
- You should not choose sour bamboo shoots that have a foul smell, with an unusual outer skin color like too white or brownish-yellow, and a surface that is spotted or crushed.
Note: You can buy pre-soaked sour bamboo shoots or buy fresh bamboo shoots to soak at home.
How to prepare sour fish head soup with sour bamboo shoots
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Prepare the fish head
When buying the mackerel head, ask the seller to cut it into bite-sized pieces and clean it. Remove the fishy blood, rub it with salt, then rinse 2 – 3 times with clean water.
Heat a pan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, then add the fish head and fry until slightly golden on both sides for about 5 minutes, then remove and let it drain.
Tip: Frying the fish first will help when cooking, the fish won’t break and will be more flavorful.
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Prepare other ingredients
Minced shallots, chopped green onions, and rinse the sour bamboo shoots with water and let them drain.
Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Slice the chili.
In the same pan used to fry the fish, remove some oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Turn on medium heat and add the minced shallots to fry until fragrant. When the shallots are fragrant, add the tomatoes and sour bamboo shoots to stir-fry.
Season with an additional 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, stir gently for about 3 minutes, then turn off the heat.
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 1 liter of water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the tomatoes, the stir-fried sour bamboo shoots, and the fish head, and cook for another 3 minutes.
Season with an additional 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, then taste and adjust according to your family’s preferences. Finally, add the chopped green onions and sliced chili and turn off the heat.
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Final product
The sour fish soup with sour bamboo shoots has an eye-catching, attractive appearance, delicious flavor with the sweet and fatty fish head combined with the sour and crunchy taste of the sour bamboo shoots and tomatoes. You can dip it in a bowl of fish sauce with sliced chili to enhance the flavor.
How to choose fresh mackerel fish head
- If the mackerel is still fresh, its eyes will be clear and slightly bulging. If it has been refrigerated for many days, the eyes will be sunken and cloudy, the cornea will lack elasticity or be discolored, and the eye sockets will be large.
- If the gills are intact and firmly attached to the body of the fish, and the gills are red, it means the fish is still fresh.
- If you buy the whole fish, you can press your finger lightly into the fish body; if it feels firm and the flesh is still elastic, the fish is fresh.
How to clean mackerel fish head properly, without fishy smell
- If you do not have lemon, you can rub it with salt or wash the fish with cold water mixed with a little alcohol or vinegar.
- Continue to rinse the fish with clean water once more, then place it in a colander to drain.
- Additionally, you can boil water and pour it over the fish head; this will help remove the sliminess and the fishy smell.
See more:
Above are 2 delicious and attractive ways to cook sour soup with mackerel heads, very easy to make. Let’s get into the kitchen and make it right away, wish you success!
*Refer to the images and recipes from the YouTube channel: HeyTV, Hà Nguyễn Thị Thanh.
