Vietnamese Grilled Whole Fish

There are a wide variety of fish dishes in Vietnamese cuisine, which is only to be expected given the country has 3,260 kilometers of coastline. There are also several major rivers that run through the country, such as the Song Da, Song Chiang, and, of course, the Mekong River.

One of the most interesting subset of dishes are the whole fish dishes. Setting aside the relatively easy preparation, I find that it is the sauces that one prepares alongside the whole fish to be one of the truly interesting aspects of Vietnamese whole fish dishes. The sauces provide an extra level of flavor that often enhances whatever spices, herbs and citrus are stuffed into the fish. 

Take, for example, chef and author Charles Phan, who has quite a few whole fish recipes out there. My parents gave me his cookbook, Vietnamese Home Cooking, as a gift. I decided to make the whole fish recipe in that cookbook, which is set forth below. The fish was delicious, but it was that dipping sauce that, for me, completed this dish.

The dipping sauce represents what the Vietnamese call "Ngũ Hành" or the five tastes. It is an excellent balance of those tastes, namely, spice, salt, bitter, sour and sweet. The chiles provide the spice; the lime juice offers the bitterness; the fish sauce contributes both the sour and the salt; and, the sugar provides, as you can guess, the sweet. The balance in this dipping sauce led me to dipping every bite-sized morsel of the fish into the sauce. 

VIETNAMESE GRILLED WHOLE FISH

Recipe from Charles Phan, Vietnamese Home Cooking at pg. 181

Serves 2

Ingredients (for the fish):

• 1 (1 1/2 to 2 pound) whole branzino, cleaned with head and tail intact
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 by 1-inch piece of ginger, cut into thin coins
• 2 large Thai basil sprigs
• 2 large cilantro sprigs
• 3 thin lemon slices
• 3 thin lime slices
• 2 tablespoons canola or olive oil

Ingredients (for the dipping sauce):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon minced Thai chile

Directions:

1. Prepare the grill.  Prepare a hot fire for direct heat grilling in a charcoal grill (you should be able to hold your hand 1 to 2 inches above the grate for only 2 to 3 seconds). When the coals are ready, place a cast iron griddle or large cast iron frying pan on the grill grate and let it preheat until very hot.

2. Prepare the fish. While the fire is reaching temperature, rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside with salt and pepper and then stuff the cavity with the ginger, basil, cilantro and lemon and lime slices. Drizzle the oil on both sides of the fish and set aside. 

3. Make the dipping sauce. To make the sauce, in a small bowl, stir together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and Thai chile until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

4. Grill the fish. When the griddle or pan is very hot, add the fish and cook it without moving for about 6 minutes until the skin is a deep golden brown and no longer sticking to the griddle. To check, gently try to lift the fish; of it does not release easily, continue to cook until it does. 

5. Continue to grill the fish. With a large, wide spatula centered at the middle of the fish, flip the fish and cook on the second side until golden brown. After 1 minute, begin checking to see if the fish is done. Insert a knife into the fish and wiggle it gently; the flesh should be barely clinging to the bone. If you feel resistance, continue cooking, repeating the test until the flesh offers no resistance.

6. Finish the dish. Transfer the fish to a plater and serve immediately. Accompany with the dipping sauce. 

Masaledar Macchi (Spicy Grilled Fish)

Cooking with a whole fish is always a great experience. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I always pause to look at the whole fish.  Branzino, striped bass, rockfish, mackerel, trout., flounder.  Each fish has a different size, texture and flavor.  

I have made a few recipes using whole fish, such as Pesce al Palermitana and Sauteed Sheephead, Savage Boleks' Style. A while back, I wanted to cook with whole fish again.  I decided to make it a part of a dinner with a theme ... an Indian grill. After a search, I found a recipe for Masaledar Macchi or Spicy Grilled Fish.

While I had the recipe in hand, I could not find any background to the recipe.  I don't know where this dish originated and how it reflects a particular cuisine from the subcontinent.  Nevertheless, the recipe calls for the marinating of fish in a mixture that is reminiscent of Indian dishes that I have both cooked and eaten.  The combination of turmeric, ginger, lemon juice, chiles, garam masala and coconut milk creates a very tasty marinade that adds a lot to the fish itself.

While the paste added flavor to the fish, it presented a problem when it came to grilling the fish.  The recipe calls for flipping the fish while it grills and, toward the end of the cooking, to leave the fish alone so that it could develop a crust.  Although I tried to get that crust, it never really developed, as you can see from the pictures.   Still, the grilled fish served as a delicious centerpiece to a dinner that included tomato chutney and grilled naan with a cucumber raita.

MASALEDAR MAACHI (SPICY GRILLED FISH)

Recipe from RecipesLib

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2 whole fish, such as trout
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup of onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 fresh hot green chile, sliced
2 inch piece of ginger root
1 teaspoon of cilantro
1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1/4 teaspoon of chile powder
1 6 ounce can of coconut milk, well stirred
Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the fish.  Wash and dry fish.  Cut 3-4 deep diagonal slits across both sides of the fish.  Rub with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  Set aside.  

2.  Marinate the fish.  Combine and blend the remaining lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, onion, garlic, cilantro, turmeric, garam masala and chile powder into a smooth paste.  Empty paste into a shall large dish large enough to hold the fish  Add coconut milk and mix.  Leave fish in the paste and milk for 10 minutes.  Flip and let rest for 10 minutes more. 

3.  Grill the fish.  Preheat the grill and oil grilling rack with vegetable oil.  The rack should be placed about 6 inches from the heat source.  Lift fish out of marinade and place it on the rack.  Grill for about 25 minutes. Turn fish once about half way through.  If fish is browning too fast, distance it more from the heat. Do not baste fish toward the end of cooking, so that it can form a crust.

ENJOY!