The traditional banh canh dish has now been transformed into banh canh made with coconut skins and delicious snakehead fish cake. A super delicious breakfast dish that is very easy to make. Let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to learn how to cook this soup dish to treat the family!
1. Snakehead fish cake
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Snakehead Fish Cake Serves 4
Snakehead fish 1 fish (about 1 – 1.5kg) Dill 3 stalks Chopped shallots 2 tablespoons Eating vinegar 1 tablespoon Annatto seeds 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 120 ml Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common seasonings a little (salt/ pepper/ seasoning powder/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose delicious catfish
For live catfish
- Choose dark-colored catfish that are round and especially still alive, with clear eyes and swimming vigorously.
- Avoid catfish that are swimming weakly or on their backs, as the flesh will be mushy and will not retain the sweetness and firmness of the fish.
For catfish that have been chilled
- Choose fish with shiny skin and scales, no fishy smell, and when pressed, the flesh feels elastic.
- The body of the fish should not have any scratches.
- The fish’s eyes should still be clear, with bulging eyeballs.
- The fish’s fat should still be clear and not burnt, indicating that the fish is fresh, fatty, and sweet.
- When buying catfish, pay close attention to the characteristics of the fish’s head to avoid mistakenly buying catfish (catfish have a larger and flatter head, while catfish have a sharper head).
How to prepare Catfish Cake
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Preparation and scraping of catfish
To eliminate the fishy smell of catfish, when you buy it, clean the fish’s belly, and carefully scrape the skin. Then soak it in diluted salt water mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar for 10 – 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water 2 – 3 times and let it drain.
When the fish is drained, remove the skin, head, and bones, and use a spoon to scrape the fish meat into a bowl.
Tip: Keep the fish head and bones to use for boiling to make a sweet broth.
See details: How to eliminate the fishy smell of fish
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Marinate fish paste
You add finely chopped dill, minced shallots into the fish meat along with 1 teaspoon of seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 20ml of cooking oil, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and then mix the mixture well and marinate for 15 minutes.
When the fish absorbs the spices, to make the fish paste firmer and tastier, you put the fish into a meat grinder to grind finely or use a spoon to pound for about 30 minutes before cooking.
Tip:- To prevent the fish meat from being crumbly and the grinder from overheating, you should grind the fish for about 30 seconds, rest for 5 seconds, and then start grinding again.
- If you have a dough mixer at home, after grinding, you can put the fish into the mixer to help make it firmer and tastier.
- Additionally, you can use a pestle to pound the fish meat if you don’t have a grinder; the more thoroughly you pound and mix, the better the final product will be.
Tips for making firm and tasty fish paste:
- Use a spoon to mix the fish paste evenly along the edge of the bowl, in one fixed direction until you see the paste sticking to the spoon, and forming a sticky mass is when it’s ready.
- Pounding the fish paste is the most important step; you should pay close attention to this step as it determines the taste and firmness of the paste. If you don’t pound thoroughly, the paste will turn out very crumbly.
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Fried fish cake
You shape the fish cake into square blocks or roll the fish into balls in any desired shape, leaving about 1/4 of the fish cake in the bowl to cook the noodle soup.
Place a pan on the stove, add 100ml of cooking oil to the pan, and to create more appealing color for the fish, add 1 teaspoon of annatto seeds; wait for the color to come out, then remove the annatto seeds.
Fry the fish cake over medium heat until both sides are golden brown. While frying, remember to turn the fish evenly to ensure it cooks thoroughly from the outside in.
Tips for frying crispy and delicious fish cakes:
- When frying, do not let the pieces of fish cake stick together, as it will be difficult to remove them.
- If the fish cake sticks to the pan, turn off the heat, tilt the oil to one side, and wait for the pan to cool down; the fish cake will come off on its own.
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Final product
The snakehead fish cake dish is complete, with a crispy, golden exterior, hot and inside is chewy fish cake with an incredibly appealing aroma. You can enjoy the fish cake immediately or eat it with chili sauce to enhance the flavor.
2. Noodle soup with coconut shell and snakehead fish cake
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Preparation
4 hours 10 minutes
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Cooking
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Coconut Shell Noodle Soup with Lăng Fish Cake Serves 4
Rice flour 400 gr Tapioca flour 150 gr Pork bones 200 gr Fish head/fish bones from Lăng A bit Lăng fish cake 100 gr White cabbage 1 bulb Carrot 1 bulb Green onion 3 stalks Fried garlic 2 tablespoons Fried shallots 3 tablespoons Annatto oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 3 teaspoons Bean sprouts/chives A bit (for serving) Common spices A bit (Sugar/salt/seasoning)
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Good Pork Bones
- Good pork bones usually have a fresh color, not pale and no strange odor.
- The temperature of the bones when purchased also affects their quality, do not choose bones that are cold as they may have been refrigerated and are no longer fresh.
- Large bones about 2 – 3 finger joints are ideal or larger if they are from sows, which are better.
- Avoid choosing small bones as these are from small pigs, which may have been sick and slaughtered early for sale. This type of bone should not be bought for safety.
How to Choose Fresh Carrots
- Choose those that are of moderate size, straight and tapered towards the tail, with a smooth skin, firm to the touch and slightly hard.
- Choose carrots that are deep orange in color, bright, with the green tops still fresh and firmly attached to the root.
- Avoid choosing overly large roots, with thick tops and shoulders at the base.
How to prepare Bánh canh gõ gáo dừa chả cá lăng
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Prepare the ingredients
To eliminate odors and clean the bones, wash them thoroughly with fresh water, then rub with salt, blanch in boiling water with a bit of salt for about 4 – 5 minutes, then take them out and rinse with cold water and let them drain.
Peel the radish and carrot, cut them into bite-sized pieces about the length of a finger.
How to clean pork bones without odor
- Another handy tip is that you can add a bit of white wine to the water used for blanching the pork bones. The wine is very effective at eliminating odors.
- You can also use lemon, vinegar, salt, or ginger to rub on the pork bones and let it sit for about 5 – 10 minutes before rinsing with water.
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Simmer the bones
Place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 2 liters of water and wait for it to boil, then add the pork bones, carrots, radish, fish bones, fish heads, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt to simmer for 30 minutes to extract the sweet broth.
Tip for you: During the simmering process, if there is foam, skim it off to keep the broth clear and more delicious.
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Kneading the dough for noodle soup
You put 400g of rice flour, 150g of tapioca flour, a little salt into a bowl and knead with 500ml of hot water (about 70 degrees Celsius) until the dough is smooth and forms a block.
Press the dough tightly and then pour boiling water in until it is about 4cm above the dough, cover it and let it rest for about 4 hours.
Next, drain the water, then knead again until smooth, gradually add about 200ml of hot water and mix well.
Tip: During the kneading process with hot water, be careful and wear gloves to avoid burns.
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Blanching the noodle soup
Boil a pot of water and then reduce the heat, put the dough into a coconut shell with holes, use a spoon to tap so that the dough flows down, the cooked dough will float for about 1 – 2 minutes, then transfer it to a bowl of cold water, and then remove it to drain.
Note: When tapping, do not shake the coconut shell, pull very slowly, and always keep the coconut shell close to the water surface. The noodle soup will not break.
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Cooking bánh canh
When the bones have been simmered long enough, add 1 tablespoon of annatto oil, roll the cá lăng fish cake into the pot, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Season with 2 teaspoons of seasoning granules, 3 teaspoons of sugar, 3 teaspoons of fish sauce, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Put the bánh canh in a bowl, add a little bean sprouts, chives, and chopped green onions, pour in the broth, and top with fried cá lăng fish cake, fried garlic, and fried onions, then enjoy.
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Final Product
The dish of bánh canh gõ gáo dừa with fish cake is very delicious, with a sweet and rich broth, chewy bánh canh noodles, plus the distinctive flavor of the fish cake.
Show off your cooking skills to prepare it for the whole family to enjoy.
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TasteVN has just shared with you a recipe for bánh canh gõ gáo dừa with fish cake that is unique and delicious for an amazing breakfast! Wishing you success!
*Image and recipe source shared from Facebook: Thien Nhien
