THE RECIPE
Hanoi, Vietnam

Dung’s outstanding fish noodle soup Bún cá

Recipe for 4 people

INGREDIENTS

  • 0.8 kg rice noodle
  • 0.8 kg Tilapia / Sneak head fish/ Grass carp (I used grass carp in the video)
  • 0.5 kg pork pone
  • ½ pineapple
  • 5 tomatoes
  • 1 Indian taro stem
  • 50 to 100 grams of each Herb
  • Green onion
  • Dills
  • 20 ml Rice wine
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • ¼ coffee spoon curcumin power
  • 1 tamarind 
  • 1 chilly
  • 2 limes 
  • Ginger
  • Shallot

BROTH

  • 5kg pork bone
  • Fish bone (separated from the fish)
  • 1 tea spoon salt
  • 3 grilled shallots
  • 2 finger dots grilled ginger
  • ½ pineapple
  • 3 fried shallots with 2 tomatoes (mashed)

FRIED FISH

  • 5 fish fillet
  • ½ tables spoon fish sauce
  • ¼ coffee spoon curcumin powder
  • ¼ coffee spoon pepper

HERBS

  • Young banana flower
  • Lettuce
  • Cilantro
  • Beefsteak plant
  • Saw leaf
  • Mint leaves
  • Beans sprouts

Preparation

Pork bone: Boil the pork bone in about 1-2 minutes to remove dust, and then clean the bone again with cold water

Fish: Remove fish scales and the dark skin inside the belly. Wash the fish with cold water and coat them with 20ml rice wine. This step will help to remove raw fish smell. Fillet the fish, separate the meat fish and the bone

Herbs: Cut the roots, take the young parts only. Wash several times to make sure all the dust and soil are removed

COOKING

BROTH:

  • Add 3l of cold water to boil the pork bone, when the water boils, remain the cooker at the medium temperature. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, simmer this broth for 30 to 45 minutes
  • Add the fish bone to the broth only when it is boiling
  • Grill 1 piece of ginger (about 2 finger dots) and 3 shallots. You can use your oven, air frier or any kind of fire to grill ginger and shallot so that when we add them to the broth, their oils will come out and make the broth to be stronger flavor
  • Add 1/2 ​​pineapple – thinly sliced – to the broth to increase sweetness
  • Fried thinly slides of 3 tomatoes and 2 shallots till the tomatoes be well cooked and puree. Add them to the broth

FRIED FISH:

  • Slide fish fillet about 1 cm per slide
  • Marinate the fish with fish sauce, pepper, and curcumin power for 15 to 30 minutes
  • Pour the oil into your pan or pot. You can check the enough heat by standing the chopstick into the oil pan. When you see the little bubbles floating, it is time to fry fish slides. Fry the fish till both sides turn golden brown

ADDITION/ TOPPING

  • Indian taro stems: slide 0.5 cm
  • Tomato: cut in 4 pieces of each
  • Put all in the boiling baize for 1-2 minutes and take out
  • Dills and green onions: slide small and short
  • Tamarind: boil for 3-5 minutes so that the pulp is mashed, separate the skin and pulp of tangerine

RICE NOODLE:

Fresh rice noodle: Pour the boiled water over the rice noodle so that the noodle will be heated and not sticky together. 

Instant rice noodle: You can find this kind of product in every supermarket. When the water is boiling, add a little cooking oil and a little salt, and some instant rice noodle. Cook for 4-5 minutes till the noodles unstick.

SERVING:

Make two layouts.  Put the rice noodle in the bottom of the bowl, add some slides of fried fish, two boiled pieces of tomato and some Indian taro stems slides, add a little of dills and green onion on the top. Then pour the broth. Served with tamarind sauce, chili, lime, herbs, young banana flower and bean sprout.

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