Home cooking through Lockdown 3 has me revisiting dishes from the past. Time spent in Hà Nội recalls 3 that I am still obsessed with: beef pho, bún chả, and chả cá lã vọng. So, here’s my take on one.
Like many visitors to the capital of Vietnam, dh and I made our pilgrimage to the restaurant on which the reputation of this dish rests; at a narrow trade street corner now crowded with impersonators, the original unsurprisingly inhabits the oldest building there, with rickety stairs leading to an unassuming first-floor dining space. And the memory of this meal has happily left its indelible turmeric stain on my heart.
Typically made with snakehead fish, gurnard is a fantastic sub with exactly the right temperament for this recipe. Widespread in the British Isles, gurnard might look ugly to some, but since the Covid shitshow started I have been steadily falling in love with this googly-eyed fish. The name comes from ’groneur’ – French for ‘grunt’ – because they emit growling sounds from their swim bladder. But, before you go petting one on your next wild swim, know that their spikey spines inflict a venomous sting. If you can’t get gurnard, tilapia makes a good second and can be found ready filleted in the frozen section of most Asian supermarkets.
Another departure from the original will be using considerably less oil: I do so because gyms are shut and there is nowhere for those extra calories to go other than my ass. Some light frying happens, but then I add the fish to cast iron skillets hot out of the oven ready with crispy garlic and spring onion.
The vermicelli side is usually served with mắm nêm sauce, but after making this for family, consensus is that most prefer nước chấm. I have included both recipes at the bottom, so take your choice. Also, chả cá lã vọng is served with rice paper to make summer rolls. I opt for iceberg lettuce instead, keeping the calories down.
If you do not have cast iron skillets you can make this entirely on a stovetop using a non-stick pan.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 600g gurnard (or tilapia), filleted, skin off, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 80g vermicelli mung bean noodle
- ½ iceberg lettuce
- 1 x bunch spring onion, cut in half, dividing white from green
- 3 long red chillies, deseeded and cut into rings
- 1 x bunch dill
- 1 x bunch coriander
- 1 x bunch Thai basil
- 1 x bunch mint
- rapeseed oil for frying
for the marinade:
- 2inch pieces galangal, peeled and chopped
- 1inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 small round shallots, peeled and chopped
- 1 x lemongrass, entire stalk, chopped
- 2 tbsp. rapeseed oil
- 2 heaped tsp. ground turmeric
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp. shrimp paste
- pinch of salt
- pinch of black pepper
Mắm nêm sauce:
- 1 tsp. fine shrimp paste
- 2 tbs fresh squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbs of sugar
- 2 tbs of water
- 1 tsp. garlic minced
- 1 tsp. chilli chopped or sambal
Nước chấm sauce:
- 9 tablespoons/150ml boiled water
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 bird’s eye chilies, chopped
Instructions:
- Start by washing all the herbs. Spin or leave to air dry on a kitchen towel while you prep the rest
- Make the marinade for the fish: in a small grinder add all the marinade ingredients and process into a paste
- Transfer the marinade to a bowl, add the fish pieces and (ideally using disposable gloves unless you want yellow hands) rub the mixture all over the fish pieces. Leave for a minimum of an hour
- Rehydrate the vermicelli noodles in water, topping up with boiling; they should not take longer than 10 minutes to soften. Drain and leave at room temp until ready to serve
- Put your cast iron skillet in an oven heated to 220°C
- Make the sauce for the vermicelli by combining all the ingredients – I use an old jar with a lid and giving it a good shake
- Add some rapeseed oil to the skillet, then add the sliced garlic giving it a minute or two before adding the halved spring onions (if you are cooking everything on the stove top then cook the garlic and spring onions first, getting them perfectly crisp, plate and then place the cooked fish and dill on top)
- Put a large non-stick pan over high heat and add the fish pieces, sear quickly, for a few minutes each side, so they catch a good gold-brown colour
- If cooking in batches, remove the fillets to a plate lined with kitchen paper and top up with more rapeseed oil for every batch you do
- Remove the dishes from the oven, place the fish on top and the dill: the heat from the dishes should begin to wilt the dill a little
- Divide the iceberg lettuce so you have approx. a quarter wedge per person
- Serve with a small side of vermicelli noodles, along with some coriander, Thai basil and mint, and some fresh chili slices. The sauce goes well will everything
FU2020 