Eel stewed with banana and beans

The eel meat is tender and delicious, the pork belly is fatty and rich, the tofu is creamy, and the broth is a shimmering golden color. This dish is best enjoyed hot with white rice or vermicelli, especially in cold weather.

Making

1. Pre-processing and preparation

• The secret to achieving that beautiful golden color and naturally rich, glossy sauce like those served in restaurants lies in the fermented rice paste, turmeric, and a touch of pork skin. The fermented rice paste creates a beautiful golden color: wash fresh turmeric, peel it, and then grind it finely with 3 tablespoons of fermented rice paste. The banana sauce provides a rich, creamy texture: boil 2 green bananas with a little fermented rice paste and turmeric, then peel and blend them until smooth. The pork skin sauce (optional) adds richness and thickness: clean the pork skin, boil it until cooked, and blend it with a little water. Peel and crush the onions and garlic, then squeeze out the juice and use it to marinate the eel, reserving the pulp.

  

• Peel the remaining 4 green bananas, keeping the peels. Cut the bananas in half, then slice them into julienne strips or diagonal slices and soak them in diluted salt water with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

  

• Cut the tofu into square pieces and fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bananas from the boiling water, blanch them briefly with a little crushed turmeric for color, then use the leftover oil from frying the tofu to lightly fry the bananas to firm them up and prevent them from falling apart during cooking.

  

• Pork belly is cut into bite-sized pieces and stir-fried until golden brown.

  

• Place the purchased freshwater eels in a thick plastic bag, add some coarse salt, and tie it tightly to remove the fishy smell and slime. Then rub with lemon, rinse thoroughly, gut, pat dry, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Marinate the eels with onion and garlic juice, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, stirring well and marinating for 15 minutes. Afterwards, stir-fry the eels until they are cooked through and have absorbed the flavors, then remove and set aside. Wash and finely chop the herbs (betel leaves, perilla leaves, green onions).

  

2. Preparing braised eel with banana and beans

• Sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant, then add the pork belly, bananas, and a little shrimp paste, stirring until the flavors are absorbed. Next, add boiling water, skim off the foam, and season with fish sauce and salt. Pour in the mixture of fermented rice paste with turmeric, banana sauce, and pork skin sauce, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the pork and bananas are tender to your liking. Continue by adding the eel and beans and simmer until the flavors are absorbed. When the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, adjust the seasoning to taste. Add betel leaves, perilla leaves, green onions, and chili peppers, then serve hot.

  

3. Finished product requirements

• The eel meat is tender and flavorful, the pork belly is rich and fatty, the tofu is creamy, and the broth is a shimmering golden color. This dish is best enjoyed hot with white rice or noodles, especially in cold weather.

  

Attention:

• There are many traditional methods for removing the slimy, fishy smell from eels, such as using wood ash, coarse salt, and lemon. Some modern chefs use cooking oil for this purpose.

• After cleaning and gutting the eel, do not wash it again as this will make the dish fishy and cause it to lose its nutritional value from the eel's blood.

• Tofu should be fried until golden brown and crispy so that it retains its shape when braised.

• Eel is considered a cooling food, so it needs warming spices like garlic, onion, and turmeric to balance the effect.

• Adjust the batch size to your taste.

• Vnexpress.net
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