A Summer Meal

Fish & Choy Sum

“Hey, mom told you to eat more greens”, said my sister when I told her that it has been damn hot here in Melbourne for the past few days. This is something totally expected from my mom, who is a totally vegetable lover. She won’t be happy if she doesn’t see at least two green vegetable dishes on our table dinner. And although mom is not much of an adventurous cook, she feeds the family well with very healthy diet. No canned or frozen prepared food in mom’s world. Most of our ingredients are bought from the wet market and prepared fresh on the day. I would love to follow my mom’s way of cooking if I have more time. The weekend seems to be the only time when I can buy fresh ingredients and prepare them on the day.

The meal I am sharing with you today is a typical Vietnamese meal during summer. On a shared table, we have one vegetable dish, one light soup (which normally vegetable based) and some meat or tofu. The meal in summer focuses a lot more on vegetables since they are believed to heal and cool down the body. Tofu and seafood are encouraged more, too. And of course, these simple dishes are enjoyed with a bowl of steamed rice.

The soup featured is my most favourite fish soup (cá rô nấu cải), which normally uses local freshwater fish with very sweet flesh. It pairs wonderfully with choy sum and a few slices of ginger. The soup has wonderful gingery aroma and detectable sweetness from fish and vegetables. Since the fish is not available in Melbourne, I normally choose pinky, a small fish variety, for substitution. But of course, any fish with sweet flesh can be used.

The second dish is a stir-fry vegetable, rau bí xào. It might be of surprise to a lot of people, but it is actually the tender leaves and stems of pumpkin tree. I know in the west we normally enjoy the fruits only, but do you know that pumpkin leaves and stems have wonderful sweetness and texture? Simply stir-fry them with little oil, garlic and fish sauce and I can enjoy the whole bunch myself.

Pumpkin Leaves and Stems

The third dish is another favourite of mine. Fried tofu dipped in fish sauce and spring onions (đậu tẩm hành). As simple as it sounds, the fish sauce makes almost everything taste good! What you need is good quality fish sauce that has the right balance of saltiness, sweetness and fishiness.

So, mom, two largely vegetable dishes and one tofu dish! It’s also healthy I think. The beauty of these dishes is in their simplicity. Most likely you won’t be able to find them in a restaurant. For me, this is the true taste of Vietnamese home cooking!

I have linked to recipes for pumpkin leaves stir-fry and fried tofu dipped in fish sauce and spring onion. Here, I will share the recipe for freshwater fish and choy sum soup as prepared by my mom. Hope you enjoy this lengthy post. And please excuse for these quick photo shots. I was too hungry to arrange them in proper manner for photo shot.

Freshwater Fish, Choy Sum & Ginger Soup (Canh ca nau cai)

Ingredients (for 2-3 as part of a rice meal)

2 medium pinky, (or freshwater fish of your choice): about 300g each, cleaned.

Ginger, about 2cm in length, sliced

10 white peppercorns

6 cup water

1 bunch of choy sum, cleaned and cut into 3-4 cm length

Sea salt to taste.

A bit of fish sauce in the end.

Method

Clean the fish thoroughly. Place the fish in a large saucepan with some peppercorn. Add enough water to cover the fish. Bring to the boil and reduce to medium heat for 5-10 mins. Set aside to cool.

Using a fork, carefully remove the flesh and put into a bowl. Discard the fish bones. Season the fish meat with a tiny bit of fish sauce and ground white pepper.

Strain the fish stock if you want. Add enough water so you have 5-6 cups. Bring to the boil. Add ginger slices and choy sum. Cook until the choy sum just tender. Add in the fish meat. Season to taste with salt or fish sauce. Serve hot with rice.

Pumpkin Leaves Stir-Fry with Garlic

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I am sending these Asian Greens, especially pumpkin leaves and stems, to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is hosted by the lovely Truffle of What's on My Plate. The creator of this event is Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen. Please do not miss out the round up which is always full of delicious and interesting dishes!