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Add a pinch of these leaves to any type of fish: It will remove the fishy smell and make it taste rich and tender.

With the following fish stew recipe, you will have a delicious, tender and odor-free fish dish.

14 December, 2023

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How to choose fresh fish?

One of the important steps in making delicious and non-fishy braised fish is choosing fresh fish. The taste of braised fish depends a lot on the freshness of the fish.

At the same time, you need to choose live fish with intact scales. When choosing fish, if the fish is already dead, gently press the fish with your hand. If the flesh has good elasticity, it means the fish is still fresh. Check the smell of the fish, the belly, the fins are still intact, and the blood in the gills is still bright red, which means the fish just died and the meat is still delicious. In this way, your braised fish will be much more fragrant and firm.

How to make delicious braised fish?

Step 1: Pre-processing fish

When you have chosen fresh fish, you need to pre-process it so that the fishy smell is completely gone. Usually, wild fish will have more fishy smell than sea fish. There are many ways to eliminate the fishy smell, such as:

You can wash the fish with rice water, which is a folk remedy that the elderly often use. After cleaning the fish, use a little rice water to wash it again, the fishy smell will be completely gone.

Next, you can use a little salt to eliminate the fishy smell. Dilute a small amount of salt with water, and wash the fish clean in the area of the gills and belly. The fishy smell will be reduced.

In addition, you can also use ginger wine, rice vinegar, and lemon to reduce the fishy smell. After being washed, the fish will not only be fresher but also the fishy smell will be completely gone.

Step 2: Marinate the fish

One of the ways to make delicious braised fish is to marinate the fish before cooking. If you are not confident that the fish is still fishy, you can fry the fish briefly in a pan. Fry until the surface of the fish is slightly golden. Then, marinate with spices for about 30 minutes before cooking to make the fish absorb the flavor better.

You can add a little ginger, garlic, turmeric, and chili to reduce the fishy smell. Besides the basic spices such as fish sauce, salt, sugar, cooking oil, you can also add a little ginger, garlic, turmeric, and chili to reduce the fishy smell. Depending on the preferences of each region and your own tastes, you should choose the suitable spices!

Step 3: Braise the fish

– Do not use cold water to braise the fish, delicious braised fish is only braised with fish sauce and spices, braised until the water is reduced, the denser the better.

– Do not turn the fish too much because it will make the fish break. When simmering, cover the pot to allow the spices to penetrate the fish evenly. At the same time, during the braising process, you should add a little pork fat to the braised fish to make it more delicious.

– After the fish is cooked, you can add a little more spices such as pepper, spring onions, and chili to enhance the flavor and visual appeal. At the same time, you should also add a handful of mắc mật leaves to make your braised fish more fragrant and firm. This is a special way to braise fish that helps you eliminate all the fishy smell of the fish.