Cha ca la vong (tumeric fish noodle dish)
The other week, Basically (Bon Appetit) featured a Vietnamese recipe developer and food stylist Tyna Hoang, and my heart exploded with all the feels. It was great to see diversity and representation. Even more so, I was thrilled to see a Vietnamese dish that wasn't your typical goi cuon or pho recipe. With this recipe feature, Tyna is opening the door for folks to see what other traditional dishes Vietnam has to offer. Although I do LOVE the idea of her version of the dish with salad rolls (will definitely try that next time), it just made me crave the traditional noodle bowl dish.
So I bookmarked her recipe and texted my mom for her version too.... combined them both and added a little spin of my own... to make this cha ca la vong dish.
When my husband took a bite of the dish, he felt as if we were being transported back to our honeymoon when we visited Vietnam. Funny enough, I didn't think about our honeymoon.. instead I longed for the ability to time travel back to the dining room table of my childhood home...it was that good.. well, almost as good as Mama Nguyen's.
Click here for the steps to make my fish sauce vinaigrette.
Cut the filets into four manageable pieces. Mix all of the marinade ingredients, lather onto the filets, and let sit in the fridge for up to two hours.
Cook the rice noodles according to the package and set aside to chill.
Whisk all the ingredients for the fish sauce vinaigrette and set aside. Add more sugar or fish sauce depending on your preference for sweet or salty. I like mine a little more sour and spicy, so I always opt for more lime juice and more pepper.
When you're ready to cook the fish, pan fry filets in batches in a nonstick pan with vegetable oil until the fish is opaque and flakey. About 6 mins (depending on thickness of filet) on each side. If you have fish with skin-on, cook skin-side down first until super crispy. When the fish is finishing up on the other side, throw a handful of roughly chopped dill on top to wilt and infuse that fresh dill flavor.
Assemble your noodle bowl with rice noodles first, lettuce (I like to tear mine up into little ribbons or bite sized pieces), all of the herbs, sprouts and cucumbers (I like to cut mine into 1 inch diagonal slices)… I sometimes also just place a small bowl of extra herbs and veggies at the dinner table to munch on with any leftover sauce when I finish my noodles… because herbs are my favorite.
Gently place the fish on the center, drop some of the crushed peanuts on top, and then generously dress the bowl with the fish sauce vinaigrette.
