Vietnamese marinated fish (Chả Cá Thăng Long)

This dish was served as a starter at a wedding I was photographing at the House of Laurels in Maleny.  I'm generally not a huge fan of white fish but this is so delicious I could have eaten another portion for my main course.  I've experimented with a few recipes I've found on the internet and think I've got it about right now. It looks complicated but as with most Vietnamese recipes it's actually quite easy - there are just a lot of ingredients.

Chả Cá Thăng Long (Vietnamese Style Fish with Turmeric & Dill)


Serves 4

4 pieces firm white fish (e.g. tilapia, bream, 

3 tablespoons fish sauce


1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic


½ tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated


2 tablespoons spring onions, finely diced


1 tablespoon lemongrass, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds, chopped

juice from 1 lime

¼ teaspoon black pepper

In a large bowl, mix fish sauce, turmeric, garlic, ginger, shallots, dill fronds, lime juice and black pepper. Add fish and mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.


4 spring onions, sliced 


1 small white or red onion, sliced

 
1 large bunch of dill, without stems


3 tablespoons vegetable oil


½ cup peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped



½ cup chopped fresh dill fronds

1 red chilli, finely chopped

juice from ½ a lime

1 packet vermicelli rice noodles

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.

In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the onions until soft and lightly golden. Add 1/3 of the dill and ½ of the spring onions. Fry for an additional 1-2 minutes. Place the onions, scallions and dill on a serving platter.

Remove fish the fridge and drain off the marinade. Using the same frying pan, heat the remaining oil to medium high. Pan fry the fish—about 3-4 minutes on each side until it's evenly browned. Place the fish on top of the bed of cooked onions, spring onions and dill. Top with the remaining fresh dill and spring onions. Sprinkle peanuts, chilli and lime juice on top and serve immediately with vermicelli noodles and a dipping sauce.

Nước Chấm (fish dipping sauce) 

Combine ½ cup fish sauce, ½ cup sugar (palm sugar if you've got it), ½ cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup warm water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 teaspoon chili paste. Adjust the amounts to taste.