Braised fish with Chinese plums for a cold day

• 1 kg fish (black carp or snakehead fish)

• 200 gr pork belly

• 200 gr black plum

• 1 branch of galangal

• 1 piece of ginger

• 4 onions

• 4 dried chillies

• Spices: Fish sauce, salt, sugar, seasoning powder, pepper.

• Cooking oil/or lard

1. Clean the fish, scrape off all the black membrane and blood from the belly. Use lemon and coarse salt to rub and soak in rice water, rinse to remove the fishy smell. Let the fish absorb the spices quickly and make the meat firmer. Put the fish in a colander, pour hot water at 80 degrees to make the fish curl up (or put the fish in a pot and boil, turn off the stove). Then, marinate the fish with 1 tablespoon of coarse salt first to help the fish have a strong flavor and be firm.

   

2. Wash and thinly slice galangal and ginger. Peel and wash onions, keep the skin on to make stew more fragrant. Wash dried chili, leave whole.

   

3. Wash the plums to remove all the resin. Simmer the plums with warm water (golden ratio "3 boiling, 2 cold"), cover tightly until the plums are soft, remove, split in half, remove the seeds, and set aside. Wash the pork belly, cut into bite-sized pieces.

   

4. Mix the braising sauce: 1.5 small bowls of boiling water, 4-5 tablespoons of caramel, 4-5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of pepper. Stir well until the sauce mixture dissolves.

   

5. Braised fish in a cast iron or clay pot is best. Arrange the galangal and sliced ​​ginger at the bottom of the pot, followed by the fish, black plums and pork belly. Add the galangal, ginger, onion, onion peel and black plums on top. Finally, pour the braising sauce into the pot until it covers the fish.

   

6. The way to braise fish well is to braise it 2-3 times over high heat so that the meat is firm and flavorful and the bones are soft. Braise the first time: Turn on high heat to boil the fish for about 10 minutes, skim off the foam and then simmer for about 1 hour. At this time, season the fish to taste, the braised fish should be rich in flavor. Turn off the heat to let the fish cool, this is also the time to help the "salmon" become more flexible. Then, continue to braise the fish over high heat in the same way. Be careful to add boiling water when the water is almost dry, avoid letting the fish burn. Braise the fish for at least 3 hours, the fish will be delicious, braise it for more than 8 hours, the fish will be firm on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside, rich in flavor and soft to the bones. To make the fish shiny and beautiful, when it is almost done, open the lid, drizzle a little more lard or cooking oil.

   

7. Finished product requirements: Each piece of fish is firm, rich in flavor, black plums are rich in flavor, with the aroma of galangal, the braised water is attractive, very "rice-eating" in winter weather.

Attention:

• Choose to buy black carp (5 - 6kg or more) with thick, firm meat.

• Pour boiling water (or boil) and then marinate with salt first to help firm the fish and absorb the rich flavor into each piece of fish.

• Rubbing lemon, salt, and washing with rice water are traditional ways to effectively remove the fishy smell from fish.

• During the braising process, when the water gradually dries up, you must add boiling water to continue braising (because if you add plain water, the fish will smell fishy).

According to VnExpress