Mai

Fish and dill are a match made in heaven, there are so many different recipes from different cultures out there that combine these two ingredients because they work perfectly together. Dill is aromatic but delicate and it enhances the flavors of fish beautifully.

In Vietnamese cuisine, you’ll find this combination in several recipes like chả cá chiên – fried fish patties, chả cá Thăng Long/chả cá Lã Vọng– the famous Hà Nội dish of fried fish cooked in a pan with dill and green onions, and bún cá- a fish rice noodle soup with a tomato broth. From my knowledge, the use of dill is more common in Northern Vietnamese food.

This canh cá thì là has always been a staple in my family. There is always a “canh”- usually a brothy soup to accompany other main dishes at the dinner table. Find our other canh recipes here! For this soup, the fish is briefly marinated, then cooked in a light, savory and tangy tomato broth. The dill is added at the end of bring everything together.

Cá diêu hồng – Red tilapia is what my mom always uses and is my favorite for this recipe. If you live in a big city with Asian grocery stores, you might be able to find this fish fresh or frozen. If you can’t find it, other white fish like seabass, red snapper or cod will also work.

If you can find a whole fish, that will be best, since you can cut it into the perfect size yourself. If not, I recommend buying steaks rather than filets because they will hold shape much better and are less likely to fall apart in your soup.

We will need a souring agent for this recipe. My recommendations are either quả sấu (Dracontomelon fruit) which you can find frozen in some asians stores, or a good rice vinegar- especially if you can find dấm bỗng- a specialty rice vinegar from Northern Vietnam.

INGREDIENTS FOR CANH CÁ THÌ LÀ

• Red tilapia – Cá diêu hồng: this is what my mom always uses and is my favorite for this recipe. If you live in a big city with Asian grocery stores, you might be able to find this fish fresh or frozen. If you can’t find it, other white fish like seabass, red snapper or cod will also work.
• Dill – Thì là: a fragrant and delicate herb with citrusy and grassy flavors. It pairs beautifully with fish and the combination shows up in many recipes across the world, from Nordic gravlax to French pan seared fish with lemon dill beurre blanc. In Vietnamese cuisine, you’ll find this combination in several recipes like chả cá chiên – fried fish patties, chả cá Thăng Long/chả cá Lã Vọng– the famous Hà Nội dish of fried fish cooked in a pan with dill and green onions, and bún cá- a fish rice noodle soup with a tomato broth.
• Tomato – Cà chua
• Green onion – Hành lá
• Garlic – Tỏi
• Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
• Rice vinegar – Dấm gạo: you want to use a good clear rice vinegar, especially if you can find dấm bỗng– a specialty rice vinegar from Northern Vietnam.

DIRECTIONS FOR CANH CÁ THÌ LÀ

1. Clean fish and cut into ~5cm thick steaks (if needed).
2. Chop up green onion, separating the whites and greens.
3. Add the fish to a bowl, along with the fish sauce, bouillon, and the white parts of green onion.
4. Mix/toss gently to coat the fish with the seasoning and let marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
5. In the meantime, mince garlic.
6. Cut tomatoes into wedges (6-8 wedges per tomato depending on the size) and cut to remove tough core.
7. Rinse, then pick the top and side leaves off the stems of dill.
8. Chop into 2-3 cm lengths.
9. Once the fish is done marinating, heat oil in a large pot on medium.
10. Gently place the pieces of fish in and let sear gently for 1-2 minutes on each side, being careful not to break the fish. Remove fish to a plate.
11. Add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
12. Add in the tomato wedges and sauté until they are soft around the edges, about 2-3 minutes.
13. Pour in the water and bring to boil.
14. Add in the fish and any remaining marinating liquid.
15. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
16. Season the broth to taste with fish sauce, bouillon, and rice vinegar.
    Note: the soup should be lightly tangy but not sour.
17. Turn off the heat, add in the dill and gently mix it in- being careful to not break the fish.
18. Using a spatula or flat ladle, remove the fish pieces to a serving bowl, then ladle in the soup.
19. Top with the remaining green parts of green onion and serve immediately!

Canh cá thì là • Vietnamese dill fish soup

Recipe by MM Bon Appétit Course: Main, SoupsCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

0

minutes

An easy, yet super flavorful and fragrant soup thanks to the magic of dill. The fish is tender and the broth is tangy and umami.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 1 kg 1 cá diêu hồng (red tilapia) or another white fish (see Notes)

• 100 g 100 dill

• 500 g 500 tomato

• 20 g 20 green onion

• 10 g 10 garlic

• 1 tbsp 1 fish sauce (+ more to taste)

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon (+ more to taste)

• 2 tbsp 2 vegetable oil

• 1 liter 1 water

• Rice vinegar (to taste)

Directions

• Clean fish and cut into ~5cm thick steaks (if needed).
• Chop up green onion, separating the whites and greens.
• Add the fish to a bowl, along with the fish sauce, bouillon, and the white parts of green onion.
• Mix/toss gently to coat the fish with the seasoning and let marinate for about 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, mince garlic.
• Cut tomatoes into wedges (6-8 wedges per tomato depending on the size) and cut to remove tough core.
• Rinse, then pick the top and side leaves off the stems of dill.
• Chop into 2-3 cm lengths.
• Once the fish is done marinating, heat oil in a large pot on medium.
• Gently place the pieces of fish in and let sear gently for 1-2 minutes on each side, being careful not to break the fish. Remove fish to a plate.
• Add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add in the tomato wedges and sauté until they are soft around the edges, about 2-3 minutes.
• Pour in the water and bring to boil.
• Add in the fish and any remaining marinating liquid.
• Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
• Season the broth to taste with fish sauce, bouillon, and rice vinegar.
  Note: the soup should be lightly tangy but not sour.
• Turn off the heat, add in the dill and gently mix it in- being careful to not break the fish.
• Using a spatula or flat ladle, remove the fish pieces to a serving bowl, then ladle in the soup.
• Top with the remaining green parts of green onion and serve immediately!

Notes

• Red tilapia – Cá diêu hồng (red tilapia): this is what my mom always uses and is my favorite for this recipe. If you live in a big city with Asian grocery stores, you might be able to find this fish fresh or frozen. If you can’t find it, other white fish like seabass, red snapper or cod will also work.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @mmbonappetit on Instagram