Cha Ca w/ Nuoc Cham

Since I've been in my International Cuisines lab this quarter, I've been all about ethnic cuisines!  We started off with China last week and it was full of exciting new dishes - Chinese cuisine definitely goes beyond what you find at your local buffet =)

Anyway, one of my favorite Asian countries is Vietnam.  Most of the food is very humble in origin, but there is a lot of beauty and flavor in each dish.  Cha Ca is a traditional Hanoi-Style Fish w/ Dill.  The name means "braised fish" in Vietnamese.  The dish is so popular in Vietnam that there is a street in Hanoi that is named in it's honor!  Neat huh?

I think this is a great fall dish that is unique and full of flavor.  And the Nuoc Cham (one of the most popular condiments in Vietnam) is so good, you can practically put it on anything - from dipping egg rolls or dressing your salads - it's THAT good!

Ingredients:

For Marinade:
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 jalapenos
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons ground tumeric
4 tablespoons water
juice from 1 lemon

1 lb. catfish fillets
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3/4 cup fresh dill
4 green onions, chopped
rice noodles, cooked, as needed
4 tablespoons peanuts, chopped

Nuoc Cham:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice (can substitute lime juice for slightly different flavor profile)
1 garlic clove, minced

For the marinade, combine the ginger, jalapenos, and sugar in a mortar and pestle. Grind until a paste remains.  Add the fish sauce, tumeric, water, and lemon juice.  Stir until combined.

Cut the catfish into 1-inch pieces and place in a shallow dish.  Pour marinade over top and cover.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan under medium high heat.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add the catfish and cook until fish is almost done, about 2-4 minutes.

Cut the dill into 1-inch pieces.  Add half of the dill and half of the green onions to the fish and cook until they are wilted.

To make the Nuoc Cham, combine the sugar, water, fish sauce, lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl.  Mix until sugar is dissolved.

Place the rice noodles on the center of a serving platter.  Arrange remaining dill and green onions over top.  Top with catfish and chopped peanuts.  Serve along side Nuoc Cham.

This is definitely an interesting dish full of new flavors.  The Nuoc Cham is definitely not to be skipped, as I think it brings the whole dish together!

What's your favorite Vietnamese dish?

Fried Catfish Fajita Tacos w/ Spicy Tartar Sauce

It's going to be a busy week, I can already tell!  But I'm trying to think positively, and fit in as much sleep as I can =)

I had a discussion with a friend a couple weeks ago about the proper way to cook catfish.  He said that he tried to be "healthy" and saute it with some vegetables and said it tasted awful.  I sort of looked at him in a puzzled look and began to laugh.  I then went on to tell him that it was common knowledge that the only way you can cook catfish is to fry it!  Am I right?!

So that got me in the mood for some catfish.  I've been on a fish taco kick, so I figured it would be a good addition to tacos, as well! Throw on some spicy homemade tartar sauce and you've got yourself a tasty lunch!

Ingredients:

Catfish:

2 catfish fillets, cut into 4 strips
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup flour
2 eggs, whisked
1-2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup cornmeal
oil, for frying
salt and pepper, to taste

1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 small onion, julienned
1 tablespoon olive oil

Spicy Tartar Sauce:

1 cup mayonaisse
2 pickles slices - about 1/4 cup (I used sweet dill sandwich slices, but feel free to use cornichons or butter, or whatever suits your fancy!), minced
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste (obviously you want a lot if you want it to be spicy!)

Tortillas, warmed

Set up a 3 compartment breading station - one pan for flour, one pan for egg wash, and one pan for cornmeal.

In the first pan, combine the paprika, black pepper, salt, oregano, sugar, garlic powder, cayenne, and flour.

In the next pan, combine the eggs and the water.  Make sure it is fairly well whisked together.

And in the third pan, place your cornmeal.

Heat enough oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to come up about an inch.  Heat under medium high heat until temperature reaches about 375F.

Fry catfish until white throughout and exterior is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, flipping once.  Place on paper towel-lined plate and season with salt and pepper.

In a large saute pan, heat up olive oil under medium high heat.  Add bell peppers and onions.  Saute until onions are translucent and tender, but still somewhat crisp, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make tartar sauce, combine mayo, pickles, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce in a medium bowl.  The more Tabasco the better, in my opinion!

To make your tacos, place one piece of fried catfish on top of a warmed tortilla.  Top with onion and bell pepper mixture and desired amount of tartar sauce.

For some reason, I've been loving making fish tacos for lunch.  It's so fast and easy - and pretty darn tasty!  How do you prepare your catfish?