Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Recipe: Vietnamese Swai

This recipe is a melding of two Vietnamese favorites: Ca Chien Sot Ca Chua is a recipe for fried fish, which is then simmered in a seasoned tomato sauce. Nuoc Cham is a popular Vietnamese condiment. To save time and healthy up the recipe, here swai is poached in a tomato-based broth seasoned with made-from-scratch nuoc cham. The end result is a flavorful fish dish that, in typical Asian style, melds sweet, spicy, savory, salty, and sour flavors.

If you can't find Vietnamese fish sauce (widely available at Asian markets), any fish sauce (or even soy sauce) can be used to replace it, but it won't have quite the same authenticity. I serve this dish with orzo, but you can serve it as-is, with noodles, or with rice, as desired. I like it served in a bowl with orzo; it turns out like a thick stew. I like to think of it as comfort food, Vietnamese-style!

Ingredients:

2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground peppercorn mix
1 pound swai
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Combine tomatoes, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, lime juice, sugar, red pepper flakes, and peppercorn mix in a large skillet. Add swai and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until fish flakes easily. Add green onions and cilantro, and stir to combine, breaking up fish into bite-sized pieces.

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