Preparation
1 minute
Difficulty
Easy
Mackerel is an extremely familiar ingredient in family meals due to the firm and sweet meat of the fish, which, when combined with spices, will make the dish more flavorful. Let’s get cooking with TasteVN to learn right away a new and very appealing grilled dish which is grilled mackerel with scallions to add to your cooking handbook!
Ingredients for Grilled Mackerel with Scallions Serves 3 people
Mackerel 3 fish Lettuce 100 grams Herbs 100 grams (water spinach; mint; basil; coriander; perilla;…) Carrot 200 grams Green mango 1 fruit Green apple or starfruit 1 fruit Cucumber 1 fruit Tamarind 20 grams
How to choose fresh, delicious mackerel:
- The gills of the fish are bright red, tightly closed, and have no strange smell or slime. If the fish is stale, the gills will be gray. The gills of stale fish are not tightly closed, have a strange smell, and are slimy.
- To ensure health, avoid fish with cloudy eyes, or even bulging eyes as this is a sign of toxic fish. Stale fish will have sunken eyes, dull color, wrinkled or torn corneas.
- Scales should be shiny, tightly attached to the body, with no slime, foul smell, or mucus.
- Pressing the body of the fish should show good elasticity, leaving no dent.
- The mouth of the fish is tightly closed, and the anus is light white, tightly closed against the fish’s belly.
Tools needed
Prepare other ingredients
Lettuce and herbs after purchase should be picked to remove old and wormy leaves, then soak in diluted salt water for about 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and let dry.
Wash green apples and green mangoes, slice them thinly, and soak in diluted lemon juice to remove sap.
Wash carrots, shred them, then add 2 teaspoons of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/3 teaspoon of salt. Mix well.
Peeled shallots, slice thinly. Peel the garlic and then mince it.
Chop the green onions.
Put 70 grams of peanuts in baking paper, spread them out thinly and wrap them up. Place the peanuts in the microwave on medium for 3 minutes to cook. Take the peanuts out to cool, then remove the skin.
Sautéing shallots and making scallion oil
Place a pot on the stove and add cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the sliced shallots and sauté on medium heat until the shallots turn light golden, then turn off the heat immediately. Strain the sautéed shallots through a sieve to drain the oil.
Tips for crispy and delicious sautéed shallots:
- You should cook on medium heat, do not turn on high heat as it will burn the shallots quickly.
- When the shallots turn light golden, turn off the heat immediately and use chopsticks to stir for about 20 – 30 seconds for a nice golden color. Do not wait until the shallots are fully golden before turning off the heat, as they will turn dark golden and taste bitter.
- If making a large quantity, you should sauté in several batches.
To make scallion oil, add a bit of hot oil used for sautéing shallots into the scallion bowl, and season with an additional teaspoon of seasoning to enhance the aroma and flavor.
Making Tamarind Fish Sauce
Put 20g of tamarind into a small bowl, then add 250ml of boiling water to the bowl. Mix well and soak for about 10 minutes for the tamarind to dissolve and blend evenly into the water. Strain to get the tamarind juice.
Place a pot on the stove, add cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Once the garlic is aromatic, pour in all the tamarind juice. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and simmer on low heat until the tamarind juice boils. Next, add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, stir well, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Finally, mix 10 grams of cornstarch with cold water and add it to the pot, cooking for another 1-2 minutes on low heat until the cornstarch is cooked and the sauce is thick and smooth. Turn off the heat and add 1 tablespoon of chili powder, mixing well.
Note: After adding the cornstarch, continue to stir gently on low heat to ensure the cornstarch cooks evenly, preventing clumping. The tamarind sauce should be thick and smooth without separation.
Scoop the tamarind sauce into a bowl, add chopped chili, fried onions, and crushed roasted peanuts, and it’s done.
Grilling Fish
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees for 5 minutes
Place the fish on the grill and put it in the oven. Set the oven temperature to 230 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes to cook the fish. Remove the fish and drizzle green onion oil evenly on both sides of the fish, grill for an additional 5 minutes until the fish is golden brown.
Transfer to a plate, spread more green onion oil and peanuts on the fish, and decorate for an appealing presentation to finish.
Final Product
The grilled mackerel with green onion oil has an attractive aroma when completed. The fish is sweet, firm, seasoned just right, combined with the sweet and sour tamarind sauce, peanuts, and rich green onion oil, creating a perfect flavor. You can serve the mackerel with rice paper and fresh vegetables for a more diverse meal.
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Grilled mackerel with onion oil is really easy to make, isn’t it? Wishing you success in making this dish!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel: Vành Khuyên Lê
