Chile Fish with Yuzu Paste

You may have noticed that I eat (and thus am posting) a lot more fish than before. That's because I just found a new seafood market right on Tully road, in San Jose. The fishmonger always surprises me with his freshest catch. My most recent purchase was a couple of beautiful halibut steaks. Halibut is a very delicate fish so I had to use ingredients that accentuate without overpowering. First, I cleaned and rinsed the fish in lemony, salted water. The marinade time was fairly brief and contained the bare minimum: chile, onion and yuzu paste.

I pan-fried the halibut steaks, to which I added fried chiles and onions as garnish. It’s always nice to give hints of what flavors are in the dish. The reason I used a generous amount of jalapeno chile is to prevent the fish from being tanh ("fishy" in Vietnamese). Maman used to say that there are two rules for making a good seafood dish: the fresher the product, the better it will taste and chile can be used to mask any unpleasant odor.

Deep-Fried Fish with Lemongrass

Since I gave birth, I've been eating for my baby girl. I’m a sucker for old wives' tales, and anyone who tells me a certain food enhances lactation for breast-feeding mothers I rush into the kitchen and make it. I don’t know if they work, but at least some of them taste good!

One in particular comes from my Aunt Danielle. She suggested that boiled sweet potato leaves were great for mothers to produce milk. I was able to find the greens at an Asian market in San Jose. At the store, I saw that fresh pomfret fish (cá chim trang in Vietnamese) was available. I bought some and fried the whole fish in a small amount of oil in a shallow pan. The preparation is very simple; the fish is coated with a mixture of seasoned rice flour and lemongrass.  



The texture from the crispy skin of the fish contrasts well with the boiled sweet potato leaves, which taste similar to spinach, but with a thicker, more velvety texture (the texture is close to rau mồng tơi).

Turbot Fish in Tomato Sauce (Breaded Fish Recipe)

Turbot is a flat, white-fleshed, delicately flavored fish. To avoid overpowering the mild fish, I breaded and pan-fried it to create a crispy outer layer, and then placed the fish on a bed of simple tomato sauce.

I garnished the top with Castelvetrano green olives, which added a mild, lightly salted, briny taste. The fish was both flaky and meaty in texture and full of flavor.

Cha Ca Thang Long Recipe: Vietnamese Dill Fish with Turmeric

Chả cá thăng long is a pan-fried dill fish dish. Try saying that three times in a row! The yellow hue comes from aromatic turmeric powder. Unlike Indian and Middle-Eastern cooking, dill -called thì là in Vietnamese- is not a very common ingredient in Southern Vietnamese cooking save for a few seafood dishes. Dill has a unique fresh flavor; it's sautéed in the same pan where the fish was pan-fried, then mixed back with the turmeric fish. The moisture from the herbs keeps the fish from drying out.

My family is originally from Cầnthõ and Sàigòn (Southern Vietnam) but my mother took me to Hànội (Norththern Vietnam) when I was seventeen. This dill fish recipe originates from that region. That's why it's also known as chả cá Hànội. You also might find it as chả cá lã vọng on some Vietnamese restaurant menus. If you're looking for a healthy dish, a meal composed of fish and cold rice vermicelli noodles (called bún in Vietnamese), might be the perfect fix.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lemon

Fish, in general, is an excellent light meal idea. Salmon in particular, if prepared properly, can be very moist and flavorful. First, make sure to ask your fishmonger to clean the fish and its skin. The next important issue is the marinade. Finally, don't overcook the filet and a delicious dinner will be in your future.

For this recipe I used lemons as a tenderizer and flavoring. I pan-fried and created a crust around the salmon steak and finish baking it in the oven on a bed of lemon slices. I served it with pineapple salsa (mango salsa would work too).