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Preparation
40 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Catfish is a specialty fish in the Mekong Delta region with very few bones and delicious meat, which has very high value. Today, TasteVN will join cooking with you to prepare a braised dish associated with the family meals of housewives in the West, which is braised catfish with soy sauce!
Ingredients for Braised Catfish with Soy Sauce For 5 people
Catfish 1 fish (700gr) Soybean paste 200 gr (soybean paste) Coconut water 500 ml Red onion 6 bulbs Garlic 4 cloves Spring onion a little Chili 2 pieces Common spices a little (sugar/ salt/ seasoning/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh catfish
- Choose fresh fish; the body should be firm and not soft and mushy.
- A large and round body without scars indicates healthy, delicious, and firm fish.
- Avoid purchasing fish that is swollen, has a foul smell, or is covered with many flies.
- Do not buy fish with too much congealed blood in the gills, black or dark red in color, as they have been caught for a long time and not preserved properly, losing their freshness.
How to choose good soy sauce
- There are 2 types of soy sauce: dark soy sauce with a strong salty flavor and light soy sauce with a mild saltiness and slight sweetness. For catfish stewed with soy sauce, you should use light soy sauce to enhance the dish’s flavor.
- Good soy sauce should have thoroughly cooked soybean seeds that are not broken. The sauce should be thick, brown with a slight red tint, and have the characteristic aroma of palm sugar, with a balanced taste.
- Avoid choosing soy sauce that is opaque black and too dark, as that indicates it has been salted for a long time and is old.
Tools needed
Pot, spoon, chopsticks, knife, plate,…
How to cook Braised Catfish with Fermented Soybean
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Prepare the catfish
After buying the catfish, you need to gut it, cut off the gills, and remove the internal organs.
Place the catfish in a large bowl, slowly pour boiling water along the body of the fish until the water covers half of the fish.
Soak the fish in boiling water for 2 minutes to release the slime, then use a knife to gently scrape the skin to remove the slime. Be careful not to scrape too hard as it will damage the delicious skin.
Turn the fish belly up and remove all the red blood vessels inside the belly to avoid a fishy smell when cooking.
Wash the fish again with salt water until it is clean and no longer slimy.
Finally, cut the fish into 4 – 5 pieces depending on the length of the fish.
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Marinate the fish
Place the prepared fish into a large bowl, marinate the fish with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of MSG, and add 200 grams of fermented soybeans.
Use chopsticks to mix well so that the seasonings blend together and coat the fish evenly.
Mash the peeled shallots, garlic, and chili, then add them to marinate with the fish for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate evenly.
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Stew fish
Add 500ml of coconut water into the pot, turn the heat high until the coconut water boils with small bubbles around the pot, then add the fish. Scoop some coconut water from the pot to rinse out all the remaining marinating spices in the fish marinating bowl.
Continue to cook the fish on high heat until the coconut water reduces to a suitable amount, and the stew sauce thickens slightly. During the cooking process, if you see any foam rising, skim it off.
Now turn off the heat and serve the dish, garnishing with a little chopped green onion and enjoy.
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Final Product
Fish braised with soybean sauce is a rustic dish but rich and attractive. The aroma of soybean sauce is both strong and enticing, with each piece of fish soaking up the seasoning and braised with sweet coconut water.
The fish meat is chewy and sweet, firm with the salty and sweet soybean sauce extremely flavorful, served with hot white rice, it can truly melt the hearts of any diners.
See more
The above is a guide on how to make braised fish with authentic flavor, delicious, rich, and extremely simple and easy to make that anyone can do. Wishing you success with this braised fish recipe!
*Images and recipe reference from the YouTube channel What to Eat?
