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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
15 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
On rainy days, sitting together with family and enjoying delicious braised catfish with pepper, paired with a steaming, soft bowl of rice is simply the best, right? Today, let’s cook with TasteVN and make this braised dish right away!
Ingredients for Braised Catfish with Pepper For 4 people
Catfish 500 gr (1 fish) Green onions 2 stalks Garlic 3 cloves Chili 3 pieces Shallots 3 bulbs Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Common spices a little (MSG/ seasoning powder/ salt/ sugar/ ground pepper)
How to Choose Fresh Catfish
- Prioritize choosing freshly caught catfish, large size, shiny skin, and intact, without scratches.
- Additionally, when buying catfish, you should select those with clear eyes that allow you to see the inside. When you press the flesh, it should feel firm and elastic.
- Avoid selecting catfish with swollen bellies, weak swimming, and pale colors, with cloudy eyes, as these are signs that the fish has been kept too long and has an unpleasant smell.
How to Cook Catfish Braised with Pepper
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Prepare the other ingredients
After cleaning the green onions, cut the green onion heads and leaves in half. The green onion heads should be chopped finely for marinating the fish, while the green onion leaves should be chopped finely to season when the fish is done.
Wash the chili peppers and slice them. After peeling, crush and mince the shallots and garlic.
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Prepare and marinate catfish
To eliminate the fishy smell of catfish and to prepare it more quickly, you can ask the seller to help. When you get home, you just need to wash it thoroughly twice with diluted saltwater, removing all the blood vessels left on the fish, and let it drain before marinating.
When marinating the catfish, add the drained catfish along with chopped green onion, half of the minced onion and garlic, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 spoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar into a bowl.
Mix well so that the spices coat the fish evenly and let it marinate for about 30 – 40 minutes for the fish to absorb the flavors.
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Making catfish braised with pepper
Place a pot on the gas stove, add 3 tablespoons of filtered water, 4 teaspoons of sugar, turn the heat to low, and stir continuously for about 4 minutes until the sugar completely dissolves and the liquid turns a brown color.
Add all the remaining minced shallots and garlic, mix well for about 1 minute, then add the marinated fish slices. Then, use chopsticks to flip each fish slice for about 3 minutes until the fish is firm and has a nice color.
Add the marinade from the fish along with 200ml of filtered water, braise over medium heat for about 4 minutes until the liquid starts to boil. Then add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, flip the fish, and continue braising for about 8 minutes until the liquid thickens, then turn off the heat.
Add all the chopped green onion, sliced chili, and 5 teaspoons of ground pepper, and it’s ready to enjoy!
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Final Product
Catfish braised with pepper after completion will have a beautiful brown color. When eating, you will feel the fish meat chewy and delicious, rich and tender, marinated and soaked in flavor.
Eating with hot, sticky white rice, along with a few slices of cucumber or tomato, what could be better, right?
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Hope that through the detailed steps guided by TasteVN, you can successfully make this super delicious and attractive braised catfish with pepper and enjoy it with your family!