Summer’s right around the corner and you know what that means…it’s fish fry season, baby!
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I’ll be walking you through how to fry fish my favorite way– Vietnamese style. This dish is called “Cá Chiên”, or fried fish in Vietnamese.
Like many Vietnamese dishes, this plate is all about balance. Between the brightness of the fresh herbs, the spicy funk of the sauce, and the crispiness of the fried fish skin; what’s not to like? We’re hitting all the food groups today, so let’s make like a fish and dive right in!
The first thing you’ll have to do is make the sauce. And let me be clear, this isn’t just any sauce. This is the sauce. Some of you may know exactly what I’m referring to; but to those of you who don’t, let me introduce you to my tried-and-true: nước chấm.
Nước chấm (pronounced “nook-jahm”) is a crucial component of Vietnamese cuisine. It’s everywhere, it’s served with everything, and it’s amazing. There is no “one set” recipe for nước chấm. The concept is almost like an Italian grandmother’s pasta sauce, completely unique in and of itself, and delicious! This is my take.
Personally, I like to have two batches in my fridge at all times. Yes, I know that sounds a bit obsessive, but let me explain. While one version is more ginger-forward, the other is more garlic-heavy. Having two versions of the same sauce gives you the opportunity to choose the sauce that will complement your dish the best. This recipe is the perfect medium between those versions.
To start, I like to slice some bird’s eye chilis super thin with a Forge to Table 7” Nakiri. The thinner the slices, the spicier the sauce will be. I prefer this nước chấm to have a fiery kick, so this knife works wonders! After the chilis are all sliced, you’ll cut up your other ingredients. Finely mince the garlic and julienne the ginger. In this sauce, I like to use a rough mince to keep a variance in size but cut however you’d prefer. These ingredients will all be added to the sauce later.
The base of your sauce is made up of four things: an acid, a sweetener, fish sauce, and water. This is where recipes tend to vary. For my sauce, I like to acidify with lime juice and sweeten with a mixture of rock sugar and coconut soda. It sounds wild, but stay with me! The taste of the soda adds a bit of nutty nuance to the sauce. It’s a trade secret (but you didn’t hear it from me).
From this point on it’s going to be a lot of taste-and-tailor. Add all of your chopped ingredients to your base, mixing to dissolve all the rock sugar. You’ll be aiming for a funky, salty, and slightly sweet sauce. Keep in mind that nước chấm is meant to be stored and used over a period of time. Leaving the chilis in the mix will diffuse a ton of spice, so be warned! You can use the sauce immediately, but it’s best enjoyed after a few days. This ensures that all the tasty goodness has been infused into your sauce.
Next up is the rub for the fish. Before you mince up your lemongrass, you’re going to want to beat it. And I don’t mean with a pair of boxing gloves, use a knife! Bruising your lemongrass helps break down the harsh fibers of the plant, making it easier to express all of its flavorful goodness. When doing this, I like to use the back of my Nakiri to vigorously whack the lemongrass all over. It does just the trick!
Lemongrass is extremely fibrous, so be sure that your knife is super sharp before hacking away. To this, you will grate in the garlic and fresh turmeric. Fresh turmeric is what’s going to make your fish perfectly golden brown and aromatic. Turmeric will stain your fingers and clothes, so be extra careful when using it. Add your dried spices and salt to the chopped ingredients and mix thoroughly to make the rub.
In this recipe, I used yellow perch. When picking these guys up from the market, I asked the fishmonger to gut and trim the fins. The fins of these fish have spines, so save yourself the trouble and ask for them to be processed. Otherwise, you might end up wounded! I was definitely pricked a time or two from these fish, and let me tell you- it wasn’t pretty.
Nobody likes a stinky fish, so give these puppies a bath! Make sure that you check the inside for any leftover blood and guts. After the fish are clean, dry them off thoroughly with a paper towel. You want to ensure that your fish is as dry as possible before frying. Dry skin means crispy skin, and we want these guys GBD: Golden Brown and Delicious!
Using a Forge to Table 7” Bunka, score your fish, creating four to five slits per side. There are many benefits to scoring your fish before frying. First off, scoring the sides of your fish allows the flavor of the rub to sink below the skin, making your fish extra tasty! The second pro to scoring your fish is that it helps with even frying. The slits allow hot oil to sink deeper into the fish, making it fry evenly throughout within a shorter time span. This helps to prevent burning your fish mid-fry.
Once your fish are scored, it’s time to rub them down! For this recipe, I’ll be frying four fish, so I like to use a fourth for the rub per fish. Using your hands, rub the mixture vigorously onto both sides of the fish, making sure to get between the scores and the inside. You want to make sure the flavor is thoroughly dispersed throughout.
Thoroughly dust both sides of your rubbed fish with cornstarch after rubbing them down. The goal is to cover them in an even, white layer. Rest the fish in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, allowing them to soak in the flavor of the rub. As the fish sit, the cornstarch will soak up all the juice from the rub and slowly sink in. The fish shouldn’t be completely white when frying, but it can have patches of white here and there.
Heat a neutral oil in a shallow pan over medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough for frying, poke the bottom of the pan with a wooden chopstick. If the tip of the chopstick bubbles vigorously, then you’re ready to fry.
To fry your fish, hold the fish up by its tail and lay it down away from you into the oil. The fish will bubble aggressively when frying, so I like to place a mesh screen over the pan to stop any rogue oil droplets from lashing out. It helps a lot– no oil burns or grease splatters here!
Fry the first side of the fish for around 5 minutes then flip the fish, frying for an additional 4 minutes. After frying, transfer the fish onto a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with salt straight out of the oil, so the salt sticks to the crispy fish skin.
Enjoy the fish with a bushel of fresh herbs, sliced tomato, lettuce leaves, and a side of jasmine rice and nước chấm to complete the meal. Watch out for stray fish bones while eating, you don’t want to choke on a bone. My favorite way to eat this is to flake the fish over rice, top it with torn herbs, and douse it all with nước chấm, Chomp on the lettuce and tomato in between bites of rice to refresh your palette, and there you have it! Your very own, Cá Chiên fish fry!
Vietnamese Fried Fish | Cá Chiên
Between the brightness of the fresh herbs, the spicy funk of the sauce, and the crispy fried fish skin; what’s not to like? Dive into this aromatic dish and create your own signature Vietnamese fish fry!
Recipe and Photography by Asia Vo (@southeats.asia)
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Nước chấm
3 bird’s eye chili, sliced
5 each garlic cloves, minced
2” knob peeled ginger, julienned
½ cup fish sauce
½ cup water
2 each limes, juiced
½ cup Coco Rico coconut soda (lemon-lime soda works in a pinch)
45 grams rock sugar
Lemongrass Pan-fried Fish
4, 8-ounce yellow perch, dressed, scaled, and fins snipped
2 each stalks lemongrass
2” knob fresh turmeric root
3 each garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
⅓ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
Vegetable oil, for frying
Garnishes
Jasmine rice
Fresh torn mint, Thai basil, and cilantro
Romaine lettuce or butter lettuce
Sliced tomato
Directions:
NUOC CHAM. Using a Forge To Table 7” Nakiri, thinly sliced bird’s eye chilis, mince garlic, and julienne fresh ginger. Add these aromatics to a storage vessel followed by the fish sauce, water, lime juice, coconut soda, and rock sugar. Mix thoroughly to dissolve the rock sugar. Adjust flavors to taste and store cold until needed.
MAKE RUB. Strike and bruise the lemongrass stalks all over using the spine of the Nakiri. Thoroughly mince the lemongrass and add to a medium bowl. Grate in fresh turmeric root and garlic. Mix in ground turmeric, chili powder, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
CLEAN FISH. Rinse the fish under cold running water, being sure to wipe away any residual blood from the inside. Dry the fish thoroughly with paper towels for the best frying.
SCORE FISH. Create four to five ¼-inch deep slits into both sides of each fish.
RUB FISH. Massage ¼ of the rub into each fish, making sure to rub the inside and between the scores of the fish. Dust both sides of the fish with an even layer of cornstarch and leave the fish to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge.
FRY. Fill a large skillet with about 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Test the temperature of the oil with a chopstick before frying, it should bubble the end of the chopstick when it’s ready. Hold the fish by the tail and gently lay the fish away from you into the oil. Fry the first side for 5 minutes, or until golden. Carefully flip the fish over and fry for another 4 minutes.
DRAIN. Transfer the fried fish onto a wire rack to drain any residual oil. Immediately season with salt while hot.
ENJOY. Serve the fried fish with a bowl of jasmine rice. Top the flaked fish with fresh torn mint, Thai basil, and cilantro. Douse everything in nước chấm, and enjoy with lettuce and sliced tomato.
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