Braised fish is a delicate combination of fresh fish meat, the rich and buttery taste of braised fish and pork belly. The dish does not require complex processing techniques or spend too much time preparing ingredients to have a delicious, nutritious braised fish pot and is perfectly suitable for enjoying on cold days.
To make delicious braised fish with rice paddles, housewives need to prepare about 1kg of black carp (or carp, snakehead fish), 300 - 400gr of rice paddles, 200 - 300gr of pork belly, galangal, ginger, shallots and fresh chili. Accompanying spices include delicious fish sauce, bean sauce (rice paste), caramel sauce (colored water), seasoning powder and ground pepper.
After buying the fish, it is necessary to scrape off the scales, remove the black film in the belly and rub thoroughly with granulated salt or lemon to remove the fishy smell, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Wash the pork belly, cut into thick pieces about 2cm thick so that it is not mushy when braised and increases the saltiness of the fish.
Wash grapefruit and soak in warm water at about 60 - 70 degrees C for about 30 minutes to soften, then split the seeds in half. Thinly slice or crush galangal and ginger.
First marinate fish and meat with fish sauce, fermented soy sauce, seasoning powder, caramel sauce and a little pepper for about 45 - 60 minutes to absorb the spices. When placing them in a pot of earth or a cast iron pot, housewives should place a layer of galangal, ginger and dried scallion skin under the bottom of the pot to prevent burning, then alternately place a layer of fish, a layer of meat and filling on top.
Place the pot on the stove and simmer over high heat until the boiling water boils, then add a little more boiling water to pour over the fish surface. Note not to use cold water to prevent the fish from being fishy. Lower the heat and braise until the water is half done.
To make the fish meat firmer and more delicious, you should apply the "2 fires" braising technique. That is, after the first braising, turn off the heat to cool and then continue braising a second time until the water is viscous and thick. Braised fish should be eaten with hot white rice to fully enjoy the flavor.
