This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a Vietnamese Cha Ca La Vong Turmeric Fish With Dill Recipe!
We had the grand opportunity to visit Hanoi, Vietnam a few years ago. One of the best memories of our trip was enjoying a meal of Cha Ca La Vong on Cha Ca Street in Hanoi.
Oh how I wish I could get back to Hanoi to enjoy this delicious meal again! But since a trip to Vietnam is not on the horizon, I can scratch this itch by making this classic dish of Vietnamese cuisine in my own kitchen.
And now I'm super excited to share this recipe for my easy version of Cha Ca La Vong, or Vietnamese Turmeric Fish With Dill, with you!
What Is Cha Ca La Vong?
Cha Ca La Vong is both a dish and a restaurant. The restaurant, located in Hanoi, is given credit for having invented the dish, which is a speciality of the city.
This popular dish features catfish, turmeric, and dill. The catfish is cut into pieces and marinated in a sauce that typically includes turmeric, shrimp paste, fish sauce, chilies, and galangal or ginger.
After marinating, the fish is charcoal grilled, fried in hot oil, then served with fresh dill and other herbs like scallions and Thai basil.
Cha Ca La Vong is listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton (see below), so you know you've GOT to try this!
Why You Will LOVE This Fish Recipe!
If you love catfish and/or Vietnamese food, then you will absolutely adore this recipe!
Here are just a few of the reasons why:
- This fish dish is exploding with flavor! Your taste buds will delight in the spicy, salty, sweet, and tangy flavors!
- Cha Ca La Vong is beautiful! The fish is a lovely yellow from the turmeric, and the fresh herbs add a stunning look to the finished dish.
- The ingredients are simple and you should be able to purchase everything at a well stocked grocery store
- You only need to marinate the fish for about an hour, and then cooking time is quick (about 20 minutes when frying the fish in batches)
- My recipe streamlines the cooking method by cutting out the charcoal grilling. After marinating you can simply quickly cook the fish on your stove top
- You'll make a delectable Vietnamese dipping sauce or dressing sauce to serve with the fish, adding even more layers of flavor
I promise you it's totally worth your time to create this recipe! So now let me tell you what you'll need!
🥘 Ingredients
Here are the delicious ingredients you will need for this Vietnamese turmeric fish:
Fish and garnishes:
- Catfish (use fish filets rather than the whole fish)
- Fresh dill (lots of it!)
- Green onions (spring onions)
- Chopped peanuts
Marinade:
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Shallot
- Thai chilies
- Lemon juice
- Fish sauce
- Olive oil
- Sugar
- Turmeric
- Black pepper
Dipping (Dressing) Sauce:
- Lemon juice (could sub lime juice)
- Black pepper
- Sugar
- Fish sauce
- Water
- Thai chilies
Vermicelli rice noodles, for serving.
Please don't be intimidated by this long list of ingredients. As you can see, some of the marinade ingredients are the same as the dipping (dressing) sauce ingredients.
🔪 Instructions
Place the cut up pieces of catfish in a large bowl. Then add all of the marinade ingredients to the catfish and mix well. By the way, using a food processor to mince the chilies, garlic, shallot, and ginger helps make quick work of this task.
Cover the bowl, and marinate the catfish for about 1 hour in your refrigerator.
In the meantime prepare the dipping sauce (dressing sauce) by combining the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. You can cover this and leave it in your refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
You'll also want to get a large pot of water boiling for cooking your rice vermicelli. Time cooking your vermicelli when you are finishing up cooking your catfish. Cook it according to the package directions.
After marinating the fish for 1 hour, it's ready to cook! I recommend using a non-stick skillet or pan, and if necessary fry the fish in batches so that it's not crowded in the pan.
Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan and cook the fish on a medium heat to a medium-high heat around 2-3 minutes on each side until the fish is cooked. Lower the heat if you need to to prevent burning.
If you are cooking the fish in batches, as each batch is finished cooking you can keep the cooked fish warm so it's ready to serve when all the fish is cooked.
Now your beautiful fish is ready to serve!
Suggestions For Serving
To serve, place some in a bowl along with cooked rice vermicelli noodles or white rice, and garnish with lots of fresh dill, green onions, and chopped peanuts. Be sure to add some of the dipping/dressing sauce to your turmeric fish and vermicelli!
FAQ
This popular Vietnamese dish features catfish, turmeric, and dill. The catfish is cut into pieces and marinated in a sauce that typically includes turmeric, shrimp paste, fish sauce, chilies, and galangal or ginger. After marinating, the fish is charcoal grilled, fried in hot oil, then served with fresh dill and other herbs like scallions and Thai basil. It is a speciality of the city of Hanoi.
Catfish is traditionally used to make Cha Ca La Vong, however you can substitute other firm white fish if you prefer. Some options include tilapia and sea bass.
Some Other Great Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other great recipes that you may enjoy:
1,000 Foods To Eat Project
In conclusion, Cha Ca La Vong is listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. I am working my way through the foods listed in this book. This is called my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. Cha Ca La Vong is food #78 in my project! Please visit the 1,000 Foods To Eat Project page to see some other MUST TRY foods of the world that you may love to try!
Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
Finally, I invite you to come along on this food journey with me! Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.
Cheers!
Grace
Vietnamese Cha Ca La Vong Turmeric Fish With Dill Recipe
Equipment
- large bowl for marinating the catfish in your refrigerator
- Food Processor optional but helps make mincing garlic, ginger, chilies, and shallot easy!
- nonstick frying pan I recommend a nonstick pan to help minimize your fish sticking to the pan while cooking
- large pot for cooking the vermicelli
Ingredients
- 1.75 lb catfish use fish filets rather than a whole fish; cut into bite sized pieces that are on the larger side
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil If you are cooking the fish in batches, then split up this oil (for example, if you cook in 3 batches use 0.5 tablespoon for each batch to total 1.5 tbsp)
Garnishes
- 1 bunch dill it's ok to go crazy on the dill!
- 5 each green onions cut into largish pieces
- ½ cup peanuts chopped
Vermicelli
- 1 package rice vermicelli cooked according to package directions; amount per serving will vary according to personal preference
Marinade
- 6 each fresh garlic minced
- 2 inch fresh ginger minced
- 1 each shallot minced
- 6 each Thai chilies you can vary the amount of chilies to suit your tastes; I like to use 3 red and 3 green
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
Dipping Sauce (or Dressing Sauce)
- 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice could sub lime juice
- ⅛ ts black pepper
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 each Thai chilies I like to use 1 green and 1 red, chopped
Instructions
- Place the cut up pieces of catfish in a large bowl. Then add all of the marinade ingredients to the catfish and mix well. By the way, using a food processor to mince the chilies, garlic, shallot, and ginger helps make quick work of this task.
- Cover the bowl, and marinate the catfish for about 1 hour in your refrigerator.
- In the meantime prepare the dipping sauce (dressing sauce) by combining the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. You can cover this and leave it in your refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- You'll also want to get a large pot of water boiling for cooking your rice vermicelli. Time cooking your vermicelli when you are finishing up cooking your catfish. Cook it according to the package directions.
- After marinating the fish for 1 hour, it's ready to cook! I recommend using a nonstick pan, and if necessary fry the fish in batches so that it's not crowded in the pan. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan and cook the fish on a medium to a medium-high heat around 2-3 minutes on each side until the fish is cooked. Lower the heat if you need to to prevent burning.
- If you are cooking the fish in batches, as each batch is finished cooking you can keep the cooked fish warm so it's ready to serve when all the fish is cooked.
- Now your beautiful fish is ready to serve! Place some in a bowl along with cooked vermicelli, and garnish with lots of fresh dill, green onions, and chopped peanuts. Be sure to add some of the dipping/dressing sauce to your turmeric fish and vermicelli! Enjoy!
Grace
I can't believe how easy it is to make this incredible dish! It tastes even better than the fish I had at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi!