A couple of years ago I had the chance to visit Hanoi, Vietnam for work, I was so taken by the oriental beauty of the place, struck by the provencal allure (no fast food centers at that time, not even the perennial McDonalds) and mystified how oriental was infused by colonial french to evolve into one dynamic culture - east meets west of sorts. So much so that I wishfully thought and said, " I won't mind living here you know". The pagodas were everywhere, an array of colors billowing above your head and truly a shopping haven if you are into chop sticks, bowls and cheong sams.
Ever heard of be careful what you wish for, it might come true? Fast forward 2008, I was well and truly living in Vietnam! But Ho Chi Minh City this time. My little boy was assigned there for work and when love beckons you, you follow love without any iota of doubt. It was our first home together as husband and wife. Vietnam is a mad mad place to live in. And a place not for the faint hearted indeed. Our Vietnam experience truly deserves a blog entry of its own, so I will segue to this dish entry instead because it reminds me how excellent and exotic the food repertoire Vietnam has.
If there is one thing I miss about Vietnam?...the food (and the shenanigans it brings from one intake to the another. LOL!)
*Adapted from Luke Nguyen's Vietnam
1kg (2 lb 4 oz) ling fillets (blue marlin would be nice, sword fish is even nicer)
8 spring onions (scallions)
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp hot curry powder
2 tbsp plain yoghurt ( I didn't have this so I used coconut milk instead)
125ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch dill
250ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) fish stock
1 lemon
300g (101/2 oz) bean sprouts (I didn't have this either)
125g (41/2 oz) rice vermicelli, cooked ( I was too lazy to cook noodles, I cooked jasmine rice instead)
Preparation
Cut the ling fillet into 4cm (11/2 in) pieces, place in a bowl and set aside.
Put the white heads of the spring onions (reserving the stalks) and garlic in a mortar and pound to a paste. Add the turmeric, curry powder, yoghurt, fish sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the oil and a third of the dill, roughly chopped, to the fish and mix well.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Thinly slice 4 of the green spring onion stalks.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining oil, then fry the fish fillets on one side for 30 seconds.
Turn the fillets over, add the fish stock and simmer for 3–5 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Remove the fish and squeeze over the juice from the lemon.
Mix the bean sprouts, sliced spring onion, remaining dill and vermicelli together.
Place into bowls and spoon over the fish fillets and sauce.
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