You are looking for braised dishes made from mackerel, let’s take a look at 2 ways to make delicious and flavorful braised mackerel that are also simple. To understand more about this dish, you are invited to get into the kitchen of TasteVN to check out this interesting recipe!
1. Braised mackerel
-
Preparation
15 minutes
-
Cooking
20 minutes
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised Mackerel For 4 people
Mackerel 1 kg Pork belly 300 gr Coconut water 300 ml Pineapple 30 gr (ananas) Green onions 5 stalks Shallots 4 bulbs Garlic 5 cloves Chili 5 fruits Cooking oil 300 ml Coloring sauce 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Common seasoning a little (salt/ sugar/ pepper)
Ingredient Image
How to Cook Braised Mackerel
-
Prepare the mackerel
To prepare the mackerel without a fishy smell, after buying, wash it clean, gut it and remove the fish intestines.
Use a tablespoon of salt to rub both inside and outside to remove the fishy smell.
Then, rinse the fish with clean water 2 times, then let it drain.
-
Prepare other ingredients
Pineapple that you bought, cut lengthwise into 4 pieces, remove the hard core, then cut into thin slices.
Green onions are washed clean and cut into sections. Wash the chili, and after washing, remove the stem of the chili.
For garlic, there are 5 cloves, crush 3 cloves, and peel and mince the remaining 2 cloves.
Pork belly is washed with salt once, soaked in saltwater, rinsed with clean water, and cut into slices using a knife.
-
Frying fish and meat
Place a pan on the stove, set the heat to medium, add 200ml of cooking oil and 3 cloves of garlic into the pan, stir for about 3 minutes until fragrant, then remove the garlic.
Next, add the fish to the pan, keeping the heat medium, fry the fish for 10 minutes, then remove the fish onto a plate.
Use a paper towel to clean the pan, add 100ml of cooking oil, and the pork belly into the pan, stir for 3 minutes, then add minced garlic and minced shallots into the pan, stir the mixture for 5 minutes until the meat is slightly firm.
-
Arranging ingredients
Evenly arrange half of the pineapple and scallions on top of the fried meat, then place the fish and the remaining pineapple and scallions on top.
-
Braised mackerel
Add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 300ml of coconut water, 2 teaspoons of pepper, and 5 chili peppers into the pan, cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, then reduce to low heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of coloring sauce, continue braising for 20 minutes, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, increase the heat and braise for another 10 minutes, adjust the seasoning to taste, then turn off the heat.
-
Finished product
The dish of fragrant braised mackerel, served with white rice, is wonderful. The mackerel is tender and rich, with a sweet and sour flavor that is deeply infused with spices, creating an exciting sensation for the eater.
2. Fragrant braised mackerel (recipe shared from a user)
-
Preparation
30 minutes
-
Processing
30 minutes
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Braised Mackerel with Pineapple (recipe shared by users) Serves 2 – 3 people
Mackerel 500 gr Pineapple 1/4 piece Garlic 1 bulb Bird’s eye chili 4 pieces Bell pepper 1 piece Fish coloring 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Fish sauce 1.5 tablespoons Common seasoning a little (Sugar/ salt/ monosodium glutamate)
Ingredient Image
How to Prepare Braised Mackerel with Pineapple (recipe shared by users)
-
Prepare the mackerel
When you buy mackerel, clean it by gutting it thoroughly. To reduce the fishy smell, use a little salt and rub it directly onto the fish flesh. Then rinse several times with water until clean, and let it drain. To save time, you can ask the seller to clean the fish for you when you buy it!
Tips to Remove Fishy Smell from Mackerel- Method 1: Soak the cleaned fish in rice water for 15 – 20 minutes. Then take it out, rinse it clean with water, and let it drain.
- Method 2: Before cleaning, you should soak the fish in salted water for 5 – 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can also rub a little salt directly around the fish’s body, then scale and clean the fish.
- Method 3: Wash the fish with a mixture of diluted alcohol and vinegar, then soak it for about 5 minutes before rinsing multiple times with clean water.
See details: Tips to Remove Fishy Smell from Mackerel
-
Prepare other ingredients
To save time, you should buy pre-peeled pineapple, bring it home, cut off the core, wash it clean, and then cut it into thin slices.
Peel the garlic, remove the stems from the chili, rinse the mixture briefly with water, then put it into a mortar and pound it finely.
-
Marinating fish
Place a pot on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pot and heat over medium flame. Wait for the oil to heat up, then add minced garlic and sliced chili to sauté for about 2 – 5 minutes until fragrant, then add 1 cup of water (rice bowl).
Next, season the pot with a mixture of spices including: 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of fish coloring. Mix the mixture until all the spices are completely dissolved, then turn off the heat.
Wait for the mixture to cool for about 20 – 30 minutes, then add the mackerel, gently stir so that the fish absorbs the seasoning and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
-
Cooking fish
When the marinating time is sufficient, turn on medium heat, cook until the fish pot boils, then reduce the heat to low so the fish cooks slowly and absorbs the seasoning. Cook for an additional 10 – 15 minutes until the fish sauce thickens, taste and adjust the seasoning, then turn off the heat.
-
Finished product
Place the fish on a plate and you have completed the super delicious braised mackerel dish with the bright red color from chili garnished with a few eye-catching slices of pineapple.
The braised fish has a brown color, absorbs the seasoning, with soft and fragrant flesh. When tasted, the fish has a savory and sweet flavor just right, served with slices of pineapple soaked in flavor and hot white rice, making it incredibly delicious. Invite the whole family to enjoy!
How to choose fresh and delicious mackerel
- To buy fresh and delicious mackerel, you should observe the gills which should be bright red and tightly closed, without any strange smell or slime.
- Do not buy mackerel if the gills are not shiny, have a dark pink color. If it is rotten fish, it will have a gray color. Gills that are not tightly attached, have a strange smell, and are slimy, indicate that this is mackerel with chemicals.
How to choose fresh and delicious pineapple
-
Color: you should choose fruits that have a bright yellow color from the stem to the bottom, there may be a few eyes that are slightly green, but it still has a certain sweetness.
-
Shape: Pineapples that are round and short will have more flesh compared to the long ones.
-
Pineapple eyes: Choose fruits with large and sparse eyes, as this indicates that the pineapple is mature and ripened naturally without being soaked in chemicals.
-
Fragrance: you can try smelling the end of the fruit; if it has a sweet aroma, you should buy it. Additionally, avoid choosing fruits that have a slightly sour smell like fermentation, as those pineapples are overripe.
-
Feel by hand: A good, fresh pineapple will not be too hard or too soft; when you press your finger into it, there should be no feeling of indentation.
Information about coloring sauce for braised fish
- For coloring sauce, if you buy the ready-made type sold in markets or supermarkets, pay attention to choose the type made from pineapple or coconut.
- You should buy coloring sauce that is not too far from the production date, as when stored in plastic jars for too long, it can easily separate oil and have an old oil smell.
- If you do not use ready-made coloring sauce, you can make it at home.
How to store braised mackerel
- If you haven’t finished eating the braised mackerel, you can store it by covering it tightly with plastic wrap or using a plate to cover it.
- You can store the braised mackerel by placing it in a food storage container and putting it in the refrigerator’s cold compartment refrigerator; when you want to eat it, just reheat it.
See more:
TasteVN hopes that with the 2 cooking recipes for braised mackerel above, you will be able to easily make this dish by yourself. With the rich flavor of mackerel combined with the sour, spicy, and slightly sweet taste, it will definitely give you a wonderful fish dish to enjoy with white rice. Wishing you success!
