Cha ca ( Vietnamese grilled fish with Dill , Turmeric and other aromatics )

My love for Vietnamese cuisine is spurred even deeper now with the incessant watching of master chef Australia and all the excellent dishes being rolled out by Vietnamese talent Tommy Pham . While I still have a lot of his recipes to try , I was recently hit me up by beautiful nostalgia when I saw this gorgeous bowl of Cha Ca that he made . I happily recon all the umami packed bowls we devoured while travelling in Vietnam - In that part of the world Cha ca is finished on the table on a live grill and is served with beautiful textured vermicelli noodles . It is eaten drenched in spoonful's of Nuoc Cham, which is an amazingly punchy and well balanced dipping sauce . Once back home , I did take the liberty to try this in my home kitchen and pair it with a bowlful of steamed rice which yielded equally good results . Tommy Pham inspired me to make it again this week in the hungry boy kitchen.

The words "Cha ca" translates to "grilled fish" in Vietnamese . The marriage of everyday common place ingredients like turmeric and dill deliver an intriguing muskiness to the fish , which is amped up with the addition of chillies and a bunch of other fresh herbs . Moist and succulent , this is exactly the kind of fishy what you would want to eat at the end of a long day and feel ... well ... nothing but pure bliss. Visually, the dish looks stunning with beautiful golden pieces of fish sitting on a bed of green herbs . The use of raw turmeric gives the fish not only a bright yellow color but also also a mild earthy flavor .

Cha ca is a flavor board of sweet, umami , sour, salty, savory and spicy all at the same time. Needless to mention , like most Asian dishes this is supremely easy to make . Once you have done all the preparation and the chopping , this takes less than 20 minutes to cook !

Do give it a go !

Things you will need :

For the Marinade :

• 06 - 07 pieces of Sea bass , cut into medium cubes

• 02 large pieces of galangal , finely chopped or bashed up in a mortar - pestle

• 03 tsps. of turmeric powder

• 02 small pieces of raw turmeric , finely chopped

• 1/2 tbsp. of shrimp paste

• 01 tsp of fish sauce

• Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

• 10 pods chopped garlic , finely chopped

• 01 tbsp. chopped ginger , finely chopped

• 02 large onions , finely chopped

• Handful of green onion , chopped 1 inch long

• 15 -20 stalks of dill leaves , chopped 1 inch long ( No Stems )

• 01 inch stick of lemongrass , bashed up in a mortar - pestle

• Handful of roasted peanuts , roughly broken up

• Vermicelli noodles OR steamed rice ( to serve )

• 5 tbsp. of oil

• Salt to taste

For the dipping sauce ( Nuoc Cham )

• 04 tbsps. of fresh lime juice

• 04 tbsps. of water

• 1 1/2 tsp of fish sauce

• 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar

• 03 tsps minced garlic

• 01 tsps minced ginger

• 04 tsps minced green chilli / Thai bird eye chilli

Steps to follow :

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and rub well on the fish . Set this aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to seep in .

• Prepare the Nuoc Cham dipping sauce : In a glass bowl , whisk together all ingredients for the dipping sauce and check the flavour - Once well balanced , keep aside .

• Prepare the vermicelli noodles as per packet instruction / precook the rice - both al dente and keep warm.

• Once ready to serve , place a pan over medium high heat and add the cooking oil . Place the marinated fish pieces in a single layer and sear on both sides

Note : You will need to do this several batches and be very delicate with the fish - Do not move the fish around more than once to avoid it from breaking .

• Once done , transfer all of the fish pieces onto a clean plate and keep aside.

• In the same pan , add in some more oil . To this add the onions , garlic , ginger and sauté for about a minute. Next , add the dill , green onion and the lemon grass leaves and give everything a quick mix to combine .

• Create a bed of herbs on the pan .

• At this point , lay the seared fish slices on the bed of herbs and allow it to cook for further 2- 3 seconds. Once done , serve immediately with noodles / rice , topped with roasted peanuts and spoonful of dipping sauce. Enjoy !