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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
When mentioning Vu Dai village, one cannot fail to mention the dish of black carp braised with its distinctive and appealing flavor. In this article, let’s join the kitchen to learn how to braise black carp in the authentic Vu Dai village style!
Ingredients for Braised Black Carp For 3 people
Black carp 400 gr Galangal 4 bulbs Ginger 1 bulb Lime 3 fruits Chili 3 fruits (small) Onion 3 bulbs Freshwater crab soup 1 tablespoon Pure fish sauce 1 tablespoon Seasoning powder 2 teaspoons MSG 2 teaspoons
How to choose fresh and delicious black carp
- The simplest way to choose good black carp is to select those that are still swimming. A fresh fish will have a streamlined body, firm flesh, and a balanced head and body. When released into the water, the fish will immediately sink and thrash vigorously.
- In addition, fresh carp will have bright eyes, a shiny color, bright red gills, and when touched, the scales will not easily come off. When you turn the fish upside down, if the belly is flat and the anus is pale white, then it is still fresh.
- You should not buy fish with white eyes, sunken and lifeless, scales that easily fall off when touched, gills that are light pink with an unpleasant odor, and a bloated belly, as these are signs that the fish has gone bad.
- Black carp usually weigh 2 – 3 kg each and are relatively more expensive compared to other types of carp.
Tools needed
Knife, earthen pot, cutting board, pestle,…
How to cook Black Carp Braised
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Prepare black carp
First, you need to scrape the scales off the fish thoroughly; you can also ask the seller to scrape the scales clean when buying the fish.
Prepare a basin of water and put the cleaned fish into it. Add the juice of 2 lemons to the basin and soak the fish for 10 minutes.
After that, rinse the fish with clean water, wait for it to drain, and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
How to clean black carp properly without a fishy smell- Besides using lemon, you can also eliminate the fishy smell by using rice water. After cleaning the fish, soak each piece in rice water for 15 – 20 minutes and then rinse it again with water.
- Table salt can also help eliminate the fishy smell. You can soak the fish in saltwater for about 5 – 10 minutes or rub salt on the fish to remove the smell.
- There are many other ways to remove the fishy smell, such as using alcohol, vinegar, ginger, or unsweetened fresh milk. You can choose the method that is most convenient for you.
See details: 7 tips to easily and effectively remove the fishy smell
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Prepare other ingredients
You proceed to slice 4 pieces of galangal into relatively thin round slices, then divide the sliced galangal into 2 equal parts.
Continue to slice the onion and ginger into thin slices. Put the sliced ginger and onion into a mortar, add 1 part of the sliced galangal, and proceed to pound the ingredients until they are finely ground.
Pound until the ingredients blend together as shown in the image below.
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Marinate the fish
Next, we proceed to marinate the fish. You can cut the fish slices in half or leave them whole, depending on your preference.
Put the fish into a bowl, then add in order 1 tablespoon of freshwater crab juice, 2 teaspoons of seasoning, 2 teaspoons of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of pure fish sauce, and finally half of the mixture of ginger, onion, and galangal that has been pounded.
Mix the fish and the ingredients together and marinate for about 15 minutes.
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Cook the Fish
The characteristic of Vu Dai village’s fish dish is the aroma of galangal. You place the unused galangal at the bottom of the pot so that during cooking, it infuses into the fish, making the dish more enticing.
Add the fish to the pot along with the remaining mixture of crushed galangal, lemongrass, and onion. Pour coconut water into the pot until it covers the fish. If you don’t use coconut water, you can substitute it with plain water, but coconut water will give a sweeter taste to the dish!
Add chili to the pot according to your family’s taste, then cover and start cooking. Cook over medium heat until the water boils, then uncover, and add the juice of 1 lemon to the pot. Reduce to low heat and continue cooking, with a total cooking time of about 20 – 30 minutes.
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Finished Product
The black carp stew will have a strong aroma of galangal that is very stimulating to the taste buds. Trying a piece of fish, you will feel the spiciness of galangal and chili, the sweet taste of coconut water, and a slight sourness of lemon. The flavors blend together to create a characteristic dish of Vu Dai village.
With this recipe, you can bring Vu Dai village into your family’s kitchen and enjoy a special dish of Vietnam.
This article has provided you with how to stew black carp in the style of Vu Dai village, authentic and delicious, simple at home. Hope you can make your family meal more appealing with this stew! Wishing you success.
