After Tet Holiday, Vietnamese fried fish noodle soup with its soothing broth and crispy fish always allures customers.

Ingredients (11)

1. 1 kilogram of fish fillet (optional fish depends on your preference)
2. 500 grams of pork bones + fish bones for the broth
3. 1 onion
4. 1 knob ginger
5. 1 bunch of celery
6. 1 bunch of spring onion
7. 1 bunch of dill
8. 3-4 ripe tomatoes
9. Seasonings: fish sauce, salt, broth mix, vinegar, chili, garlic, lemon
10. Rice noddle/ rice vermicelli
11. Herbs: lettuce, perilla leaves, Vietnamese balm, etc.

Instruction

Rinse the fish under cold water and rub it with lemon and coarse salt to remove the fishy scent. Then separate the meat from the bones and cut the fish into chunks. Let it dry or pat dry with a paper towel and mix with salts to retain the natural firmness as well as help the meat to be well seasoned. You shouldn’t  coat the fish with flour since it will make the meat soggy when ladling the hot soup into the bowl.  

The best technique to keep the fish crispy, retain the rustic taste: Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat, when it’s hot, add oil, and adjust the heat to medium-high. You can check whether the oil is hot using the top of a chopstick, if there are small bubbles on the tip then it is hot enough. Divide the fish into batches (the pieces separate from each other to avoid sticking) and then fry. Frying the natural, unprocessed fish will take longer than floured ones but make up for the crunchy fish that keeps the original taste from the meat. Do not flip the fish but wait for a golden side (about 12-15 minutes) to turn back, fry the other side.

The fried fish should be natural golden on both sides without being floured with the turmeric powder, the inside is still soft and remain the originally delicious taste from the fish.

Take the fish out to pat dry with the greaseproof paper.

Make the broth: The pork bone is preliminarily blanched, washed, and simmer for a flavorful broth. Put the fried fish bones into the pot to simmer along with the pork bones. Add grilled onion and ginger after being rinsed to the pot. Occasionally skim the surface of the stock to keep it clear,  remove the bones after 1 hour, season with salt, fish sauce, broth mix based on your taste.

Rinse tomatoes and slice them into small wedges. Spring onion, dill should be rinsed and chopped.

Stir fry wedges of tomatoes without smashing them.

Put the tomatoes in a pot of broth and add a little vinegar to create a mild sour taste. Herbs are washed, soaked in dilute salt water, drained dry, chopped for later serving.

Remove celery’s old root, wash, twist to create aromatic essential oil, blanch through hot water.

To assemble the dish, blanch rice noodle through hot water and place it into the bowl. Add fried fish, tomatoes, blanched celery, spring onion, and dill to the bowl. Ladle in hot broth over the ingredients. Serve with herbs, sate sauce, and garlic-chili fish sauce.

Requirements of the dish: Each piece of fried fish must be naturally golden, the outside is crispy without drying, the inside is tender and juicy, keeping the original taste of the fish. The mild sour taste of the broth is accompanied by the harmonious colors of tomatoes and herbs. Vietnamese fried fish soup noodle soup is always the number one option after long days of Tet holiday eating greasy, meaty banh chung.