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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
25 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
A braised dish like eel with taro will be a wonderful choice for families gathering together on weekends, a rustic dish that is fragrant and sweet, rich in flavor, and loved by everyone. Today, let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to make this dish right away!
Ingredients for Eel with Taro Serves 2 people
Eel 0.5 kg Pork belly 0.5 kg Taro 1 piece (about 1kg) Turmeric 1 piece Green onions 7 stalks Vietnamese coriander 100 gr Wild betel leaves 100 gr Lemongrass 4 stalks (sliced thin) Chili 1 piece (sliced thin) Shallot 1 piece (sliced thin) Curry powder 1 tablespoon Fermented rice 3 tablespoons Shrimp paste 2.5 tablespoons Chili sauce 3 tablespoons White wine 3.5 tablespoons Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Salt a little
How to choose fresh and delicious ingredients
How to choose fresh and delicious eel
- Delicious eel caught from natural ponds will have firm and fragrant flesh, typically characterized by two distinct colors with a yellow belly and a black back.
- Choose eels that are of moderate size, as they will have more flesh and be easier to prepare.
- Avoid choosing very small eels as they do not taste good; overly large eels (with black bellies) are often farmed and have mushy flesh that is not as fragrant as wild eels.
How to choose fresh and delicious pork belly
- Select pork belly with a balanced ratio of fat and meat, as overcooked meat can become dry or greasy due to too much meat or fat.
- Press the piece of meat with your hand; fresh pork belly will have a certain elasticity and will quickly return to its original shape without leaving a dent.
- Do not choose pieces of meat that have a purplish, pale color, or that smell unusually fishy; these are signs of spoiled meat.
How to choose fresh and delicious banana stem
- Choose banana stems that are white, round, and plump, as this indicates they are young and fresh, not old.
- Avoid buying banana stems that have many black spots or a hard texture, as these are old and have lost their characteristic crunch.
- Currently, banana stems can be easily found at various markets or food stores, priced between 50,000 – 100,000 VND/KG (price updated on 14/04/2021).
-800x450-23.jpg "How to Cook Delicious and Flavorful Eel Stew with Banana Stem at Home That Everyone Will Love 2")
How to prepare Eel with Banana Stem
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Preparing the eel
With 0.5kg of eel after purchasing, you wash it thoroughly with water to remove all the slime, then use the pointed end of a knife to cut into the head of the eel, and then run the knife along the backbone of the eel to the tail, removing the internal organs and using a cloth to wipe the eel clean.
Next, you lightly flatten the eel with a knife, then cut it into pieces about the length of a little finger for easy eating.
How to clean eel to remove slime and fishy smell:
- After washing the eel with clean water, you add about 1 tablespoon of salt and warm water to the eel, it will naturally release the slime in 10 – 15 minutes.
- Next, you rinse each eel in water until it is no longer slippery, then wash it again with clean water.
- Additionally, you can also use other methods such as wood ash, lemon juice, or rice washing water, etc., to clean the eel.
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Prepare other ingredients
With 0.5 kg of pork belly, wash it clean with water, then cut it into small bite-sized pieces.
Next, take 1 fresh turmeric root, peel it, put it in a mortar, and pound it finely, along with 7 green onions, and chop 100g of Vietnamese coriander, and 100g of fish mint into small pieces.
For the remaining ingredient, take 1 banana stem (about 1.5 kg), after buying it, peel off 2 – 3 layers of the outer sheath to reveal the tender, white, crunchy part of the banana stem, and wash it again with water. Then cut it into thin slices and shred it.
How to prepare crunchy white banana stem
- To keep the banana stem white and prevent it from browning, soak it in diluted saltwater for about 5 minutes.
- To prevent the banana stem from becoming bitter after processing, soak it in water as you slice it.
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Marinate the dish
Add the pork belly and eel into the pot along with crushed turmeric, lemongrass, chili, and thinly sliced shallots, 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, 2.5 tablespoons of shrimp paste, 3 tablespoons of fermented rice, 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 3 tablespoons of satay, and 3.5 tablespoons of white wine, then mix well and let it marinate for about 5 minutes.
Next, add the banana flower and continue to mix so that the ingredients and spices blend together, letting it marinate for 10 minutes.
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Stew the eel
Turn on the stove over medium heat, place the marinated pot on, cover it, and cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the ingredients are cooked through.
Add about 500ml of water to the pot, cover it, and continue to stew the eel for about 15 minutes until the broth boils.
Finally, add green onions, Vietnamese coriander, and wild betel leaves to enhance the flavor of the dish.
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Finished Product
So our dish of eel braised with banana stem is complete.
The yellow color of turmeric is eye-catching, attracting eaters; the eel is tender and sweet, absorbing the spices evenly, the banana stem is crunchy and fragrant, not bitter, making it very suitable to combine with a bit of rice vermicelli or white rice.
Above is the guide on how to prepare the dish eel braised with banana stem. With the steps above, I wish you a delicious dish to treat your family!
*Images and recipes referenced from the YouTube channel Hương Vị Quê Hương
