Savory pot of fish and bean stew

Fish and beans

People who are not familiar with country dishes will be surprised or skeptical about this interesting random combination. But for real country people, braised fish with beans has become a familiar delicacy. So much so that whenever they miss home, they crave a bowl of white rice with braised fish with beans.

It's strange, while braised fish with pickled cabbage, pickled melon, and pineapple only focuses on a few types, mainly braised with just enough water. As for braised fish with beans, any fish can be a good match.

As long as there are fish just caught in the field and a few rows of green beans in the garden, you can light the stove and cook a pot of fish whose flavor will permeate your teeth.

The weather this season is so bad, my mouth is so bland, I don't know what to eat to regain my lost appetite. While I was wondering what to cook to change the taste for the whole family, the fishmongers cheerfully invited me: "Buy some fish to cook with beans, ladies...!"

My mind was like a headlight when I heard the enthusiastic call in the scorching heat of the summer solstice: “Oh, how could I forget about this braised fish dish?”. So I quickly bought some fish with the surprising name “oh”. I stopped by the vegetable stall to buy a bunch of long beans. So I solved the problem of “what to eat today” of housewives on hot days.

People guess that the full name of the “oh” fish must be: “Oh! Are you surprised?” or in the Quang Nam dialect: “Oh, what is that?”. It is also possible that during the south wind season, the fish move in dense streams, so when pulling the net, the fishermen hit a fish and were surprised and said “oh”? When asking this question to the fishmongers, to the old fishermen of the coastal area, everyone shook their heads and laughed, saying: “In the time of our ancestors, that is what we call them now…”.

Taste of home

Tuna fish is a type of fish with a round body and smooth skin. It is small but has delicious meat and is very affordable. Among the myriad of fish species, tuna fish seems to be born to be stewed with beans.

Just cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, season with fish sauce, salt, pepper, onion, and peanut oil, then simmer for about twenty minutes to let it absorb. Next, add the beans, which can be green beans or snow peas, that have been pre-processed. If the water in the pot of fish is too thick, add a few more spoons of cooled boiled water until the beans and fish blend together in flavor, until the water is just enough to cover the fish.

Scoop out a bowl of sticky white rice, pour in a layer of fish sauce, add a few pieces of brown beans and fish on top. It's so simple but it's a great dish to go with rice during rainy or changing seasons.

Strangely enough, fish stewed with pickled melon and jackfruit often loses its original flavor. On the contrary, pickled melon and jackfruit stews are delicious and flavorful.

However, braised fish with beans is not like that. Both beans and fish have similar flavors that blend together. And with a piece of hot white rice, pick up a piece of fish, along with a few soft bean sticks, you can feel the sweet taste of beans and the fatty taste of fish mixed together on the tip of your tongue.

It turns out that our grandparents in the past were very discerning in what they ate and drank. All combinations may have been random at first, but over time, they became a solid default for dishes that were typical of Quang. For example, flying fish braised with young jackfruit, mullet braised with pickled cabbage, freshwater fish braised with turmeric leaves… were not just simple dishes but also the unique flavors of their hometown, not found anywhere else.

The same goes for braised fish with beans, it is on the list of nostalgic, rustic dishes of Quang Nam. On the long journey, the nostalgia for home is aching just because of the taste of familiar dishes from home…

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/man-ma-noi-ca-kho-dau-3137591.html