Ta pi lu ca ngu Binh Dinh gives a pot sweet with coconut water and tuna that has taken on lemongrass and chili. The trick is keeping the pieces of tuna whole, since a heavy hand with the spoon breaks the fish up and clouds the broth.
The fish marinates in lemongrass, garlic, chili and sate for at least half an hour, then it is seared before a liter of young coconut water goes in.
This batch weighs about 3.7kg, at roughly 87 calories per 100g.
Method
Clean 1kg tuna, remove the guts, scrape out all the black membrane inside the belly, rinse several times and drain. Cut the fish into bite sized steaks and split the belly section in two so it cooks quickly.
Rinse 5 lemongrass stalks, 4 chilies, 30g garlic and 150g onion, open the coconut for its water and prepare 300g fresh greens.
Put the fish in a large bowl with the minced lemongrass, minced garlic, minced chili, thinly sliced onion and 2 teaspoons sate chili oil, toss to coat and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Set a pot over the heat with 2 tablespoons cooking oil and fry the lemongrass, garlic and chili until fragrant. Add the marinated fish and turn it gently so it firms up without breaking.
Pour in 1 liter of young coconut water to cover the fish, add 3 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook until the fish is done through and the broth smells of coconut.
Make the dipping sauce: fry lemongrass, garlic and chili in oil until fragrant, stir in 5 tablespoons mam nem, add sate, then add the onion and 200g finely chopped pineapple and bring to a gentle boil.
Blanch 500g rice vermicelli, drain the fresh greens and set out 200g rice paper. Bring the pot to the table, roll the fish with noodles and greens and dip in the mam nem.
Tips
Fish with clear eyes, bright red gills and springy flesh gives the sweetest broth.
Scraping every trace of black membrane from the belly is what keeps the pot from tasting fishy.
Split the tuna belly in half to thin it out, since a whole piece cooks on the outside while the middle stays raw.
Turn the fish very gently as it sears, because broken tuna clouds the broth.
Young coconut water is already sweet, so taste before adding anything else.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.