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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Dry eel is chewy, sweet, and especially fragrant when fried, making it incredibly appealing; this unique flavor will definitely captivate your whole family. Let’s get cooking with TasteVN and learn how to make dry eel!
Ingredients for Dry Eel Serves 3
Eel 1 piece (choose large eels from 0.5kg and above) Ginger 1 piece (about the size of a finger) Chili 1 piece Garlic 2 cloves Rock sugar 15 gr Fish sauce 1 teaspoon Grape wine 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Salt 1/2 teaspoon MSG 2 teaspoons
How to Choose Fresh Eels
- When buying eels, choose those that are still alive and of moderate size. Eels with a distinct color pattern, black on the back and yellow on the belly, are naturally caught eels from rivers and streams,… their meat will be chewier and tastier than farmed eels.
- If you can’t find natural eels, buy farmed eels with a black belly; choose larger ones for better taste.
How to Prepare Dried Eel
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Preparing the Eel
The eel is cleaned of slime, rinsed thoroughly, and the belly is opened to remove the internal organs.
Next, you cut the eel into pieces about 10cm long. Inside the belly of the eel, use a knife to slide along the backbone to remove the bones.
How to Clean Eel from Slime and Eliminate Fishy Smell
Method 1: Place the eel in a plastic bag with coarse salt, massage it thoroughly for about 2 minutes, then rinse off all the slime with lemon juice. After that, rinse clean with fresh water and let it drain.
Method 2: Use lemon juice or rice water to wash off the slime from the eel’s body. When you feel the eel is clean, open the belly, remove the internal organs, and rinse again with diluted salt water.
Method 3: If you have ash from cooking, rub it on the eel and wipe off the slime a few times with the ash. Finally, rinse with clean water.
Method 4: Place the eel in the freezer for about 2 hours. When preparing, take the eel out, soak it in cold water, and use a mesh cloth to gently wipe the body of the eel a few times to remove the slime.
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Marinate eel
Put the ingredients into a mortar and pound them finely, including: 1 piece of ginger, 1 chili, 2 cloves of garlic, 15g of rock sugar, and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Next, mix the mixture with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of monosodium glutamate, and 1 teaspoon of grape wine.
Mix the eel evenly with the marinating spice mixture, and let it marinate for about 1 hour.
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Drying
After marinating, you take the eel out to dry under the sun for about 3 big sunny days to completely dry the eel.
To make the dried eel more flavorful, spread the marinade spices evenly over the eel pieces.
Note:
- During the drying process, you can spray a little white wine to prevent flies and insects from sticking to it.
- Dry in strong sunlight; if it’s cloudy or raining, you can put the eel in a plastic bag or airtight container and store it in the refrigerator, then take it out to dry when it’s sunny.
- While drying, remember to turn the eel pieces evenly to ensure they dry completely.
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Fry the eel
Place a pan on the stove, add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, turn the heat to low, and then add the dried eel to fry. While frying, turn the eel pieces to ensure they are crispy, then remove the eel and let it drain the oil.
Tip: Besides frying, you can also grill the dried eel for a delicious option.
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Final product
Dried fried eel is rich in flavor, chewy, fragrant, and is suitable to eat with white rice or use as a snack.
You can also grill it and dip it with chili sauce, which is absolutely wonderful!
How to preserve dried eel for a long time
- At room temperature, you can place the eel in a bag or a sealed container and it can be stored for 5 days.
- To preserve it longer, put the dried eel in the refrigerator’s cool compartment, and it can be stored for 1 month.
- If the eel shows signs of moisture (but has no foul smell or mold), you can take the eel out to sun-dry for about 1 hour and then put it back in the refrigerator.
It is not difficult to make a dried eel dish that is unique and attractive to treat your friends with this simple recipe, right? Wish you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel: Hieu Huynh
