Preparation
20 minutes
Cooking
20 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
If you’re bored of rice today, what should you eat? No need to think anymore, today TasteVN will join you into the kitchen to make a steamed dish with mackerel, wood ear mushrooms, and vermicelli wrapped with rice paper. Guaranteed to be delicious just as good as delicacies. Let’s get started!
Ingredients for Steamed Mackerel Wrapped in Rice Paper For 4 people
Mackerel 2 fish Pork 100 gr Vermicelli 100 gr Noodles a little Rice paper 15 pieces (for serving) Wood ear mushrooms 10 pieces Lemon 1 fruit Starfruit 2 fruits Cucumber 2 fruits Basil/ lettuce a little (for serving) Garlic 6 cloves Chili 3 fruits Green onions 1 stalk Red onions 4 bulbs Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Common spices a little (salt/ pepper/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh mackerel
- Fresh mackerel are those with bright pink-red gills, tightly closed, without any strange smell or slime.
- The fish’s eyes are bright, clear, and the cornea is elastic. The scales are shiny, firmly attached to the body, without slime, unpleasant smell, or mucus.
- When you press on the fish’s body, it should spring back well, without leaving a dent. The mouth is tightly closed, and the anus is light white and tightly closed against the fish’s belly.
- Do not buy fish with dark gills, soft flesh, cloudy eyes, and a foul smell because such fish are often old and spoiled.
How to choose good dried wood ear mushrooms
- Preferably choose mushrooms with large, thick caps and stems with few small mushrooms.
- Good quality mushrooms have a dark amber color, the top side is slightly shiny, and the underside has a milk coffee color.
- Avoid choosing wood ear mushrooms that look too dark because this type may become mushy when soaked in water and is less crunchy.
Tools needed
How to prepare Steamed Mackerel wrapped in rice paper
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Prepare the mackerel
After buying the mackerel, clean it thoroughly, gut the fish, and remove the internal organs. Use salt to rub both inside and outside to eliminate the fishy smell.
Then, rinse the fish several times with clean water and marinate it with half of the minced shallots, 2 teaspoons of seasoning, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 2 teaspoons of fish sauce for about 30 minutes.
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Prepare the other ingredients
Soak the rice noodles in cold water for about 15 minutes until they expand, then drain and cut them into pieces.
Soak the wood ear mushrooms in cold water for 1 to 2 hours until they expand, then trim the stems and slice them into strips.
How to properly soak dried wood ear mushrooms- You should only soak dried wood ear mushrooms for a maximum of 3 to 4 hours before cooking. Avoid soaking dried mushrooms for too long or overnight, as this can lead to the production of toxins in the mushrooms, which can be harmful to health.
- Soak the mushrooms in cold water, not warm water, because while the mushrooms expand faster in cold water, the morpholine in the mushrooms does not have enough time to neutralize.
Shallots and garlic are peeled, washed, and finely chopped. The chili is washed and minced. The lemon is squeezed to extract the juice. The green onion is washed and sliced.
The pork is washed and then cut into small pieces.
Thai basil, lettuce, cucumber, and sour starfruit are washed. The cucumber and sour starfruit are sliced to accompany the steamed fish.
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Marinate the fish
You marinate the fish with a mixture of 1/2 of the chopped shallots, 2/3 of the minced garlic, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Mix well and marinate for 15 – 20 minutes.
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Steam the fish
Place the marinated fish in a steamer for about 15 – 20 minutes over medium heat until the fish is cooked, then remove the fish.
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Stir-fried vermicelli with wood ear mushrooms
Place a pan on the stove, add 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Next, add the meat and stir-fry for about 3 minutes over high heat.
Then reduce the heat and add the wood ear mushrooms and vermicelli, stir-frying until cooked.
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Make the dipping sauce
In a bowl, add all the minced chili, 1/3 of the minced garlic, 3 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of water, and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, then stir well to dissolve the ingredients.
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Completion
After taking the fish out, place the stir-fried vermicelli and wood ear mushrooms on top of the fish, sprinkle a little chili and sliced green onions, and it’s done.
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Final Product
You wet the rice paper and then add lettuce, cucumber, star fruit, fresh herbs, and fish, roll it up, and dip it in fish sauce. It is really delicious.
The fish is seasoned just right, the fish meat is sweet and not at all fishy thanks to careful preparation, the vermicelli and wood ear mushrooms are chewy and tasty, eaten with the rolled vegetables and rice paper, then dipped in the salty, spicy fish sauce. Truly delicious beyond words. You should try making and enjoying this dish right away.
Above is the recipe for steamed mackerel wrapped in rice paper with wood ear mushrooms and vermicelli, delicious, soft, sweet, and easy to make. I wish you success with this recipe!
*Refer to the images and recipe from the YouTube channel HANG CAN COOK.