I’m back! For those of you who don’t know, I have been on a bit of a hiatus. Escaping New Zealand’s cold winter for a slightly warmer climate. A few weeks ago, I got back from a five week trip, spent venturing around South East Asia (Vietnam and Bali). This trip included many incredible experiences. I made many memories that I will never forget, but one of the highlights of Vietnam was most definitely the food. The food in Vietnam is incredible, just so damn delicious and so fresh. On our first night in Vietnam, we found ourselves at a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking the city, where we tried a set menu of Hanoi’s specialties. One of my highlights was the delicious ‘Cha Ca’, a traditional Vietnamese turmeric and dill flavoured fish. The version we had was served in fresh rice paper rolls, allowing you to create your own rolls and dip each one in a classic Vietnamese Nuoc Nam sauce. This dish packs a huge amount of flavour, a burst of freshness with every bite and is also great for serving a crowd.
Cha Ca: Grilled white fish, flavoured with turmeric, ginger, garlic and fish sauce, tossed together with fresh dill, spring onions and roasted peanuts ❤
Ingredients
- 800g white fish, such as Tarakihi, Gurnard or Snapper
- 12 pack of rice paper rolls
- 2 tablespoons rice bran oil
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- Half an Onion, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons rice bran oil, for cooking
- 1 large bunch of dill
- Bunch of spring onion, chopped into 2cm pieces
- 3/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 300g rice vermicelli noodles
- Handful of mint, roughly torn
- Handful of coriander, roughly torn
Nuoc nam dressing
- 4 tablespoons lime juice
- 3-4 tablespoons white sugar
- 4 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed chili
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- 4-5 tablespoons water
Directions
- Mix the first measure of oil, sugar, salt, fish sauce, onion, turmeric and ginger together in a bowl. Chop the fish into 3-4 cm chunks, add to the spice mixture and toss to coat. Place fish in fridge and allow to marinade for half an hour or a couple of hours before cooking.
2. While you are waiting for the fish to marinade, you can make the nuoc nam dressing. Start by mixing the sugar into the lime juice, once the sugar has dissolved add the fish sauce, chili, garlic and water. Stir to combine. Taste the sauce and adjust accordingly, adding more lime juice or sugar if needed. The nuoc nam should be a nice combination of sweet, sour and salty. Once you have this nice blend, set nuoc nam dressing aside.
3. Cook the rice vermicelli noodles according to the packet instructions and set aside.
4. Heat the second measure of oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the fish along with the marinade to the pan and fry until golden brown and cooked through. The key is to get the pan to a heat where the pan starts to go a nice crispy brown. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the fish in two batches. While you are waiting for the fish to cook you can prep the spring onion, chop the dill and roast the peanuts and chop.
5. Once the fish is cooked, add spring onion, dill and peanuts to the pan and saute for a few minutes.
6. After you have finished cooking the fish, serve up onto a plate. Prepare each rice paper roll by spraying each with a little bit of water and leaving for about 10 seconds to absorb.
7. Place all the ingredients in the middle of a table. Fill each rice paper roll with vermicelli noodles and top with the fish mixture. Roll the rice paper up and dip in the nuoc nam dressing.
Bon Appetit
~~
The Kitchen Khaleesi 🙂
THE KITCHEN KHALEESI 