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Cooking Time
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Snakehead Fish Porridge with Straw Mushrooms and Meatballs Serves 3
Snakehead fish 1 fish Ground pork 200 gr Rice 200 gr (white rice/glutinous rice) Quail eggs 12 eggs Straw mushrooms 200 gr Wood ear mushrooms 50 gr Green onions 2 stalks Minced shallots 1 bulb Minced garlic 3 cloves Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common seasonings a little (salt/sugar/pepper/seasoning powder)
How to Choose Fresh Ingredients
How to Choose Fresh Snakehead Fish
- Choose snakehead fish of moderate size, not too big or too small. Select fish that are elongated, not too round, feel firm to the touch and not mushy.
- Fresh fish will have a small anus; this indicates freshness. Dead, spoiled, or chemically treated fish will have an enlarged anus.
- When preparing, if the fish flesh is soft, has a lot of fat in the abdomen, and has a foul smell, then it’s not good fish.
See more: How to Choose Fresh Snakehead Fish
How to choose fresh and delicious pork
- For this dish, you can buy pre-ground pork for convenience; however, to ensure the safety and quality of the meat, you can buy whole pork and chop or grind it yourself using a meat grinder.
- You should choose pork that is pinkish-red, fresh, with no strange smell, and white, translucent fat; avoid pork that is pale and has a foul odor.
- You can press the meat with your hand; if you observe that the meat is elastic immediately, does not leave a dent, and is dry without being sticky, it indicates that this is quality meat.
- Good pork should have even muscle fibers, be firm, and not ooze liquid or be slimy.
- When buying meat, you should ask the seller to cut it along the grain and avoid meat with small white specks interspersed among the muscle fibers, as this may indicate that the meat is infected with cysts (eggs) from tapeworms, which could negatively affect your health when consumed.
See more: Tips for choosing quality meat
How to choose fresh straw mushrooms
- You should prioritize choosing mushrooms that are uniform in size. Choose mushrooms that are black or gray, as they will taste better than white ones.
- It is best to choose mushrooms that are still buds, not yet opened, fresh, and round or cylindrical in shape.
- When you touch and gently squeeze the mushrooms, if they feel slightly firm, they are fresh and good.
How to prepare Snakehead fish porridge with straw mushrooms and meatballs
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Prepare the ingredients
To clean the mushrooms, soak the straw mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms in diluted salt water for 15 minutes, then gently squeeze to remove all dirt, and rinse with clean water 2 – 3 times before letting them drain. Cut the straw mushrooms in half and chop the wood ear mushrooms finely.
Boil the quail eggs until cooked, then peel them.
Tip for peeling quail eggs quickly and easily:
- To peel quail eggs easily, the boiling step is very important. You can put the eggs in a pot with a bit of salt and add water gently.
- Boil until it boils, reduce the heat, cover, and boil for about 4 – 5 minutes, allowing the eggs to be cooked just right without being dry.
- While boiling, use chopsticks to stir gently in a clockwise direction; this helps the yolk concentrate in the center, making it very visually appealing when cut.
- You can use chopsticks to test if the eggs are done; if you can pick up the eggs easily, they are cooked.
- Put the eggs in cold ice water or under running water to cool them down, then place the eggs in a container with a bit of water, close tightly, and shake well. This helps the shells to come off evenly without taking too much time.
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Preparation of snakehead fish
To ensure that the snakehead fish is clean and not slimy, when buying it, cut off the fins, tail, and remove the internal organs.
Wash the fish thoroughly with salt for about 3 minutes, then rinse it again with water. Separate the head from the body and cut the fish body into bite-sized pieces.
Effective way to eliminate the fishy smell of snakehead fish
Besides using salt to remove the fishy smell, you can mix 2 tablespoons of lemon or vinegar with about 200ml of warm water, then soak the fish in it for 5 minutes and rinse it again before cooking.
See more: How to prepare and eliminate the fishy smell of snakehead fish
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Making meatballs
Mix 200g of meat with 50g of finely chopped wood ear mushrooms, then season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix well and marinate for 10 minutes for the meat to absorb the flavor. Then shape the meat into bite-sized balls.
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Stir-frying the fish
Place a pan on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add minced onions and garlic to fry until golden and fragrant, then add the fish body and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, sprinkling a little pepper on top.
Tip: Briefly stir-frying the fish will help reduce the fishy smell and prevent it from breaking apart when added to the porridge.
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Roast rice
Wash the rice clean and drain. Place a pot on the stove and add the rice, roasting until the rice is slightly golden.
Tip: Roasting the rice will help the rice grains not break when cooking porridge and make it more fragrant.
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Cook snakehead fish porridge
When the rice turns golden, add water (about one finger above the rice surface) and the fish head to cook until the fish head is cooked, then remove it, continue to cook until the rice is soft for about 30 minutes.
Tip: When the rice grains are soft, you can add more water if you want a thinner porridge!
Then add the meatballs, straw mushrooms, and quail eggs, and adjust the seasoning to taste, then turn off the heat, add chopped green onions and pepper on top to complete.
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Final product
The snakehead fish porridge with straw mushrooms and minced meat is extremely appealing, delicious, with a variety of combinations from fish, meat, and mushrooms, all bringing a nutritious dish. You can sprinkle a little chopped ginger on top to help warm the porridge!
Successful execution tips
- You wash the rice, let it sit to dry, then put it in a pan and stir evenly over medium-low heat until the rice grains turn light yellow, then cook as usual. This will help the porridge grains to expand evenly and look more attractive and taste better.
- If you do not want to roast the rice, you can also soak the rice for about 2 hours before cooking.
- The water ratio is also very important; you can maintain a ratio of 1:4 for rice and water, which is the most suitable, or you can adjust it according to your preference.
See more:
The above article guides you on how to cook snakehead fish porridge with straw mushrooms and meatballs quickly, simply, and deliciously. Wish you success!
*Image and recipe source shared from Facebook: Nguyễn Thanh Trúc.
