Fish sauce is a specialty dish of the Vietnamese people in general, and particularly in the Mekong Delta region. Among them, steamed snakehead fish sauce is a delicious dish that adds flavor and makes your family meal more enjoyable. Today, we will go to the kitchen to make this dish together!
1. Steamed snakehead fish sauce
Preparation
20 minutes
Cooking
35 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Steamed Snakehead Fish Sauce For 2 people
Snakehead fish sauce 300 gr (1 fish) Pork belly 200 gr Duck eggs 3 eggs Fish sauce soaking water 2 tablespoons Green onions 2 stalks Ginger 1 piece Chili pepper 1 piece Shallots 4 bulbs Common spices a little (salt/ sugar/ pepper)
How to choose fresh and delicious pork belly
- When choosing pork belly, observe and select pieces with a dry outer membrane, light red or bright pink color. When cut with a knife, the meat should show a pinkish-white color, slight shine, and the interspersed fat should be bright white and firm.
- You should choose pieces with a balanced ratio of fat and lean meat, as they will taste better and not be greasy when eaten.
- You should select pieces where the meat and fat are tightly adhered to each other. When you press with your hand and then release, the meat should not leave any indent.
- Avoid choosing pieces with a spoiled, foul smell or any other strange odors. Do not select pieces that are too dark in color, bruised, or have blood clots.
Tools needed
Steamer, tongs, knife, cutting board, stove.
How to Prepare Steamed Snakehead Fish Sauce
-
Prepare the Ingredients
To clean the pork belly thoroughly and remove any smell, after purchasing the meat, scrape off any hair, rub salt onto the meat, then rinse it several times with clean water. After that, let it drain and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Peel the shallots, remove the roots, wash them clean, and you can either leave them whole or slice them according to your preference.
Cut off the roots of the green onions, discard any old and wilted leaves, wash them clean, let them drain, and then chop them finely.
Peel or scrape the ginger, wash it clean, and then cut it into thin strips.
Wash the chili peppers clean and then slice them thinly.
-
Blanch the Meat
Boil 500ml of water, place the cleaned pork belly in a bowl or plate, then pour the boiling water over it. Stir well for 3 minutes, remove the meat, rinse it with clean water, and let it drain.
-
Seasoning
You place the briefly blanched pork belly on a plate, arranging the meat evenly on the plate, then put 300g of snakehead fish sauce on top of the meat.
Add 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce soaking liquid, crack 3 duck eggs onto the plate so that the yolks remain intact, add shredded ginger, chopped green onions, sliced chili, and shallots on top.
Finally, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the plate and a little ground pepper, and it’s ready to be steamed.
-
Steaming the sauce
Put a steamer pot on the stove, bring the water to a boil, then place the plate of sauce inside the pot, cover it, and steam over medium heat for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, turn off the heat. You can use tongs to safely take the plate of sauce out!
-
Final Product
The dish of snakehead fish sauce steamed with pork belly and quail eggs looks really appetizing, doesn’t it? The distinctive flavor of the fish sauce combined with the soft and fatty pork belly, served with white rice and some fresh vegetables, will make your rice pot empty quickly!
2. Snakehead fish sauce steamed with pork fat
Preparation
10 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Snakehead fish sauce steamed with pork fat Serves 4 people
Snakehead fish sauce 350 g Ginger 1 piece Pork fat 200 g (can be adjusted according to family taste) Shallots 4 pieces Chili 2 pieces Lettuce 1 head Cucumber 2 pieces Green onions 2 stalks Common spices a little (Sugar / Salt / Seasoning powder / Ground pepper)
How to choose fresh and delicious pork fat
- It is best to buy pieces of pork fat located on the shoulder or neck, as fat in these areas will have a more fragrant smell and richer taste compared to other areas.
- In addition, fresh and delicious pork fat should have a bright white color, look evenly colored, and when pressed, it should have good elasticity.
- Moreover, avoid buying pork fat that has an unusual foul smell, especially if it is slimy or has turned a cloudy yellow color.
How to make Catfish Fermented Fish Sauce with Crispy Pork Fat
-
Rendering the Pork Fat
Place a pan on the stove, when the pan is hot, add the pork fat and render it over medium heat. After about 5 – 7 minutes, when the pork fat releases oil, reduce the heat to low and continue rendering until all the fat is released.
When the pork cracklings are dry and golden brown, turn off the heat and remove the cracklings.
-
Preparing the Ingredients
Peel the shallots, wash them thoroughly, and slice them thinly. Peel the ginger, wash it clean, and then cut it into thin strips.
Trim the roots off the green onions, wash them well, and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Peel the cucumber and cut it diagonally into small bite-sized pieces.
Chop the chili peppers finely; you can adjust the amount of chili according to your family’s taste.
-
Prepare the fish sauce steaming bowl
Put the scallion oil into a deep plate, add a little ginger and thinly sliced shallots into the plate. Next, add the snakehead fish sauce on top.
Then add chopped scallions and julienned ginger on top. Add 1/3 spoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 teaspoons of sugar, a little ground pepper, and whole chili along with the remaining thinly sliced shallots.
-
Steaming the fish sauce
Place a pot of water on the stove, when the water is gently boiling, place the steamer on top and then put the fish sauce plate in and cover it. Steam the snakehead fish sauce for about 10 minutes until the sauce is soft.
Next, add chopped scallions and chopped chili on top of the fish. Continue to cover and steam for another 2 minutes until the scallions are cooked. After that, turn off the heat and remove the steamed fish sauce from the pot.
-
Final Product
Add cucumber and lettuce to the plate, sprinkle a little ground pepper, and you have completed the super delicious steamed fish sauce dish that goes well with rice. Make this dish for your family right away!
With the recipe for dish 2 how to make steamed snakehead fish sauce that TasteVN has provided above, hope you will successfully make this super delicious dish to change the taste for the whole family!
