Goi ca nhech takes about an hour and a half. The fish is coated in roasted rice powder for a nutty aroma, the cheo is thick and savory, and the whole thing gets rolled up with la mo and dinh lang leaves. The work is in cleaning off the slime properly.
This is a banquet dish, made once for the whole family. The eel is rubbed with vinegar and salt for about 5 minutes, skinned, then rinsed with 300ml of blended galangal water before it is cut into strips. The roasted rice powder has to coat every surface for the fish to smell clean.
This batch weighs about 2.8kg, at roughly 200 calories per 100g.
Method
Remove the head and innards from the fish and rub it with a mixture of vinegar and salt for about 5 minutes to clean off the slime.
Skin the fish, rinse it with 300ml blended galangal water and drain. Set the bones aside and cut the flesh into strips about 4 to 5cm long.
Peel the galangal, slice it and pound it fine. Slice the shallot and chili. Cut the tomato into wedges. Shred the kaffir lime leaves finely. Slice the lemongrass thinly. Rinse the leaves for serving and drain them.
Set a pan over the heat with 4 tablespoons cooking oil and fry the cut fish pieces over medium heat until golden on both sides, then lift them out. Fry the bones until crisp.
Put the strips of fish, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf and 100g roasted rice powder in a large bowl and toss until every surface is coated.
Make the cheo: heat 3 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan, fry half the shallot and garlic until fragrant, then add the tomato and stir. Once the tomato softens, add 200ml water, 5 tablespoons me and the fried fish, stir through and turn off the heat.
Let it cool a little, blend it smooth, then bring it back to a boil. Season with 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon MSG and 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Finish with 4 tablespoons cooking oil and 2 tablespoons annatto oil, stir through and turn off the heat.
Arrange the salad on a plate, roll it in la mo, la lot and dinh lang leaves with chili and sliced shallot, and dip in the cheo.
Tips
Choose live fish with a brown back, a paler brown belly and a moderate size.
Clear away all the slime and blood before skinning, and the flesh comes out clean tasting.
The roasted rice powder has to cover every surface, because any damp patch is where the fishy smell stays.
Bring the blended cheo back to a boil before seasoning, and the sauce turns thick enough to cling to the chopsticks.
Let the dressing stand a few minutes so the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves fully, since pouring it on early leaves the salad flat.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend has a light cooling finish that shows up more in a cold salad than in a hot dish.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.