This recipe serves about 4 to five individuals, takes roughly half-hour to organize.
Bitter fish soup has been acknowledged among the many high 10 best rated fish soups on the planet by worldwide meals journal TasteAtlas. The soup preparation varies throughout areas. The southern fashion is various and beneficiant with elements, whereas Hanoi bitter soup is elegant and easier.
The key to non-fishy bitter soup is thorough fish preparation and boiling the soup earlier than including the fish. Completely different areas could evenly fry or straight add fish to boiling water to protect its unique sweetness.
Substances
– 400 grams of snakehead fish (or catfish, carp, salmon)
– 200 grams of tomatoes
– 100 grams of elephant ear stalks
– 100 grams of okra
– 100 grams of bean sprouts
– 1-2 tamarind, or you need to use dried tamarind pulp or tamarind soup base powder.
– 1/2 pineapple
– Garlic, chili, shallots
– Spices: Fish sauce, salt, sugar, inventory powder
– Herbs: rau ngo – enydra fluctuans lour, ngo gai – cilantro
– Cooking oil
1. Preparation
a. Clear and put together the fish
– Begin by cleansing the fish completely. Rub the fish with a mix of lemon and salt to eradicate any viscosity and fishiness.
– Afterward, rinse the fish and drain extra water.
The bitter fish soup options completely different elements, making a feast of colours. Photograph by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
– Place the fish in a bowl, add a teaspoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, and a teaspoon of minced garlic.
– Permit the fish to marinate on this flavorful combination for 10-Quarter-hour.
– If attainable, go for snakehead fish, identified for its agency and chicken.
b. Put together greens and herbs
– Peel the pores and skin off the pineapple and minimize it into bite-sized triangles.
– Stem the elephant ear stalks and minimize them diagonally.
– Minimize the tomatoes into wedges.
– Slice the okra diagonally.
– Wash bean sprouts and permit them to empty.
– Wash and chop the herbs.
– Chop the garlic finely.
– For the bitter style, use tamarind (or kumquat juice).
– In a small saucepan, mix 1 cup of water and the tamarind.
– Deliver the combination to a boil and let it simmer till the tamarind absolutely dissolves into the water.
– As soon as the tamarind is absolutely dissolved, pour the combination via a wonderful mesh sieve right into a small bowl, then put aside.
2. Cooking course of
– Warmth cooking oil in a pan over low-medium warmth.
– Sauté the chopped garlic till it reaches a slight yellow coloration. Take away the garlic from the oil and set it apart.
– Fry the marinated fish in the identical garlic-infused oil. This step not solely imparts a wealthy taste to the fish but in addition helps eradicate any lingering fishy style, enhances its firmness and transforms its coloration to a white with golden edges. As soon as fried, set the fish apart.
Marinated fish is fried in garlic-infused oil. Photograph by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
– In a separate pot, carry water to a boil.
– Add fish sauce, salt, and sugar to the boiling water, adjusting to your style preferences.
– Introduce the beforehand fried fish into the pot, permitting it to cook dinner. Whereas cooking, repeatedly skim off any foam which will rise to the floor.
– As soon as the fish is completely cooked, take away it from the broth and set it apart for later use.
– Add pineapple, tomatoes, and the beforehand filtered tamarind juice to the broth.
– Season the soup for a balanced style, adjusting sweetness, saltiness, and sourness as wanted.
– Introduce elephant ear stalks, okra, and bean sprouts into the pot.
– Return the fried fish to the pot to warmth via.
– Sprinkle the soup with the beforehand sautéed garlic for added taste.
– Garnish with herbs.
3. Completed product
A bowl of bitter fish soup is often accompanied by a aspect of fish sauce with chilies. Photograph by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
The best result’s a transparent broth, carrying a bitter word derived from the mixture of pineapple and tamarind, with a refined trace of spice from chili.
The inclusion of greens and herbs enhances the feel of the dish.