Recipe: Cha Ca Thang Long

Ingredients + Condiments

•  1 pound fish filet (red snapper is a good choice)
• 1 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves (or subsitute with garlic powder)
• dash of salt, white pepper and sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bunches green onions
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch of mint
• 1/2 medium white or red onion
• 6 ounces of thin white vermicelli rice nooodle
• 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar mixed with 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon of sugar
• unsalted roasted peanuts
• Vietnamese crackers (banh trang nuong)–optional
• 1/2 bunch of dill–optional
• dipping sauce (nuoc cham)–see instructions separately below
• 2 serving plates

At the end of this blog I am posting some photos as shopping and visual aids.

Instructions

• Mix garlic, salt, black pepper, sugar, and olive oil well. Mix in the tumeric powder.
• Slice fish filet into bite size pieces. Blend the mixture above into the fish thoroughly and let it all marinate for an hour in the fridge.
• While waiting, boil the rice vermicelli per instructions on package (see video below). It should taste more well done than al dente but not too soft. Be sure to drain it well in cold running water before plating it. Then set it aside.
• Clean and dry the green onion, mint, cilantro, and dill and only keep the leaves and young stalks. Cut them into 2-inch long pieces.  Cover each serving plate with just cilantro and mint. Set the onion and dill aside for now.
• Slice the 1/2 white or red onion thinly and soak it in a small bowl with the red wine vigar mixture for 15 minutes before draining the onions.  Set the onions aside.
• Grill the fish for 5-7 minutes. Place the cooked fish on top of the mint/cilantro on the serving plate.
• Add a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and quickly stir fry the green onions (and dill if you wish) then drizzle it over the fish.
• Serve the fish with vermicelli, dry roasted peanuts, vinegar onions, Vietnamese rice cracker, and nuoc cham*.  This recipe serves 2.

*Nuoc cham can be substituted with the more authentic and hardcore mam tom, a particularly foul smelling shrimp paste based dipping sauce. A good VN restaurant will offer either or both sauces on your request, but try the mam tom at your own risk…don’t say I didn’t warn you!

 

Videos

This is how to serve cha ca:

 

This is a reminder of how to make nuoc cham:

 

Photos

Tags: cha ca thang long, cilantro, dill, mam tom, nuoc cham, onions, recipe, red snapper, tumeric powder

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 minced garlic clove
1 tablespoons Ginger, grated
1/2 lime, juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili paste
1 pinch of salt

1 teaspoon honey (optional)

2 pounds of salmon steak (beware of bones) with skin on or salmon filet

 

Directions:

Tags: grilled teriyaki salmon, recipe

 

NEM NUONG

Ingredients

• 2.2 pounds/1 kg of ground pork shoulder; if leaner meat is used, add a bit of oil to the ingredients
• 6 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon of Alsa (or any brand) baking powder, 4 tablespoons corn or potato starch, 7 or 8 tablespoons water, all mixed together
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons thinh or roasted, finely ground rice sold at Vietnamese markets. This can be omitted if not available in your kitchen.
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 bunch of cilantro, mints
• 1 package of rice vermicelli
• 1 large cucumber, cored
• 1 peeled green mango
• 1 peeled plantain banana
• Rice paper

 

Instructions

• In a bowl mix the pork, salt, fish sauce, and sugar together. Then add the mixture of baking powder, starch, and water. Cover the bowl and chill in freezer for 4 hours, but make sure that it does not freeze.
• While waiting, wash the lettuce, cilantro, and mints and let dry. Slice the cucumber, mango, and banana as seen in the picture above. Cook the rice vermicelli noodle then drain it well. You can also prepare the nuoc cham (dipping sauce) at this time.
• Remove the meat from the freezer and add the roasted ground rice. Then use a food processor to grind the mixture to a paste.
• Spread the paste into a lightly oiled baking pan (20″x4″) about an inch thick. Bake it at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes; check to see if it is cooked at 20 minutes depending on your oven.
• When cooked, let it cool a few minutes then slice into strips of about 5″x1″ for rolling.
• Dip the rice paper into a bowl of warm water. Once it is soft, you can start rolling just as in the video below. Note that you should not wet the paper until you are ready to wrap.

 

NUOC CHAM OR DIPPING SAUCE

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl then modify slightly according to your taste. It shouldn’t be too sweet or sour. Substitute Splenda for sugar if you are diabetic.

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice or rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• fresh or preserved chili peppers as desired

 

CHAO TOM

Ingredients

• 1 pound shelled and deveined shrimps. The larger the shrimps, the crunchier the paste will be when cooked.
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon tapioca, corn or potato starch
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 bunch of cilantro, mints
• 1 package of rice vermicelli
• 1 large cucumber, cored
• 1 peeled green mango
• 1 peeled plantain banana
• Rice paper

Instructions

• Mix shrimp, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, starch, and oil together in a bowl. Cover the bowl and chill in freezer for 2 hours.
• While waiting, wash the lettuce, cilantro, and mints and let dry. Slice the cucumber, mango, and banana as seen in the picture above. Cook the rice vermicelli noodle then drain it well. You can also prepare the nuoc cham (dipping sauce) at this time.
• Remove the mixture from the freezer and grind in food processor until it is smooth, almost like a paste.
• Spread the paste on a small, oiled baking pan about an inch thick.
• Bake it in a toaster oven (use a regular oven if you double or triple the ingredients) for 15-20 minutes at 300 degrees F. Check after 15 minutes to see if the shrimp has changed color/texture as it may be cooked after 15 minutes depending on your oven.
• Let the shrimp paste cool down for a few minutes then slice the shrimp sheet into 15 or so slices.
• Dip the rice paper in a bowl of water and begin wrapping as in the video above. Do not wet the paper until you are ready to roll.

 

 

Tags: chao tom, nem nuong, nuoc cham, recipe