Recipe from Wong restaurant
Adapted by Florence Fabricant
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(209)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Up a flight of rickety stairs in Hanoi is a 100-year-old restaurant that is often a must-not-miss in guidebooks. It serves one iconic, delicious dish, called cha ca la Vong, which also happens to be the name of the restaurant. In the bright, noisy dining room, packed with communal tables set with little charcoal burners, a skillet of fish and other components arrives, and you submit to a brusque ceremony of tabletop cooking and do-it-yourself assembly. This version, from the chef Simpson Wong, omits shrimp paste and utilizes fresh turmeric. —Florence Fabricant
Featured in: A Dish Inspired by a Dive in Hanoi
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2two-inch pieces fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped (see note)
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1inch fresh peeled ginger, chopped
- 2inches fresh peeled galangal, chopped (or substitute ginger)
- 1and ½ pounds skinless hake fillets, cut in 2-inch squares
- ¼cup Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam)
- 3tablespoons minced garlic
- 2teaspoons chile flakes
- ⅓cup lime juice
- 2tablespoons sugar
- 4ounces dried Vietnamese or Thai rice noodles (also called rice stick)
- 1head Bibb lettuce, rinsed, trimmed, core removed, sliced thinly
- ¼cup canola oil
- 1teaspoon salt
- 1medium-large onion, sliced thin vertically
- 1and ½ bunches scallions, trimmed and chopped
- 1bunch dill, stems discarded, fronds coarsely chopped
- ½cup each cilantro leaves, mint leaves and Thai basil
- ¼cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
- ¼cup crisp fried shallots (sold in jars in Southeast Asian stores), or canned fried onions
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
550 calories; 22 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 51 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 39 grams protein; 1647 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place the fresh turmeric, ground turmeric, ginger and galangal in a food processor or mini-chopper. Process until very fine, almost a paste. Transfer to a stainless-steel dish. Wash food processor immediately to prevent staining. Place the fish in a bowl. Rub mixture all over fish, remembering to wear gloves or plastic bags on your hands to avoid turmeric stains. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
Step
2
Combine fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of the garlic, half the chile flakes, the lime juice, sugar and ½ cup cold water in a small bowl. Stir well. Refrigerate. Place noodles in another bowl, cover with warm water and set aside 10 minutes until softened.
Step
3
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, drain noodles and add to boiling water. Cook 1 minute, then drain.
Step
4
Spread lettuce on a serving platter. Spread noodles over lettuce. Cover lightly with a sheet of foil or plastic wrap.
Step
5
Place oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet and heat to a high temperature. Add fish pieces. When seared on one side, 1 minute or so, turn to sear other side, sprinkle with salt and remaining chile flakes and cook through, another minute or two. Remove to another platter. Add onions to pan and reduce heat to medium. When onions start to brown, add remaining garlic, stir, and add scallions. Stir again. Tuck fish pieces back into the pan and add the dill. Cook about 1 minute, just enough to warm fish. Remove pan from heat.
Step
6
Spread contents of the pan, including all the oil, on noodles. Scatter herbs on top, then toss on peanuts and fried shallots. Serve with sauce on the side.
Tip
- Fresh turmeric and galangal are sold in Asian markets. They can also be ordered in 1-pound packages from www.marxfoods.com.
Ratings
4
out of 5
209
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Cooking Notes
Mark
Great recipe - a fun, light dish that's quite easy: marinate fish, make sauce, cook noodles, cook fish, flash cook veg and then toss everything together BAM! Done. However, the recipe for the sauce is way too large, netting a cup of dressing for this delicate Asian salad of sorts. Therefore, cut that part of the recipe in half, or use as a marinade for another dish/time.
Kle
Hake is not the right fish for this dish. Traditionally it is made with a river fish with firm flesh, so catfish or monkfish would be better. Cod, hake, haddock, sole are all too delicate and will fall apart. And the shrimp paste is integral to this dish. A little bit goes a long way. Just mix a couple of spoonfuls of fine shrimp paste with minced garlic/chilis, lime juice and a sprinkle of sugar.
MD
Some brands are not salty. Even I am vnese, I don't remember the brand since I don't eat often. But a lot of them are not salty like it used to be before in U.S. Usually, I cook a little bit since my stomach can't handle fermented shrimp paste. I think 1/2 - 1 teaspoon is good enough, then you mix with water, lemon, garlic, and sugar to reduce the salt.
Anthony
I have made this four times. All delicious but fourth time the best, using tilapia (previously used halibut and sole), and this time letting the onions get really brown. Truly one of the world’s great dishes.
Stephanie
This recipe is stellar. We used halibut. I would love to try it with scallops!
Dhiveja
Hake is not a good fish for this - the pieces don’t hold their form and become somewhat mushy. Included shrimp paste as suggested and was definitely a good idea. Delicious dish.
Max Alexander, Rome, Contestant MasterChef Italia 2020-2021
Yes to the shrimp paste! Seems odd to leave it out but I guess Americans don't have a taste for preserved seafood. Here in Italy we eat anchovies straight from the jar...
Xuan
Just for future reference, the correct name of this dish is "Cha Ca La Vong". If you do have a hotpot like stove top, definitely use it! No need to plate it but eat it directly from the cooking pan.
Anne H.
Yes, that original name is told of in the headnote. This variation was developed by a Chef Wong, so named for him in a play on words.
Anne
Buttermilk to cover the fish1 tablespoon ground turmeric3 tablespoons freshly grated galangal or ginger juice2 tablespoons shrimp pasteI did the Times marinade but added buttermilk enough to cover fish. Marinated overnight.Used mahi mahi and it was perfect.
Nancy
Thank you for an excellent recipe. I used cod. It didn’t fall apart. Catfish is a good suggestion, too. Turmeric paste was tasty & made the fish golden and crispy. Refrigerated half the marinated fish to cook the next night. Feared the flavor might be too strong, but it was just as good as the night before. Used rice stick noodles the first night. The second night I substituted a bag of 0-calorie shirataki angel hair cooked according to package directions. Just as good as the rice sticks, imo.
Kle
Hake is not the right fish for this dish. Traditionally it is made with a river fish with firm flesh, so catfish or monkfish would be better. Cod, hake, haddock, sole are all too delicate and will fall apart. And the shrimp paste is integral to this dish. A little bit goes a long way. Just mix a couple of spoonfuls of fine shrimp paste with minced garlic/chilis, lime juice and a sprinkle of sugar.
Donna
Do you think haddock could be substituted for the hake?
Beth Bochnak
Haven’t tried this yet. What are the jarred fried shallots called in the Asian stores?
Joanne
Friend onions; mine came in a clear plastic container....
Anita
Or fried shallots.
Robin Rice
I like shrimp paste. For those who can get it, how much would you use and how much do you reduce the salt (should you?)?
MD
Some brands are not salty. Even I am vnese, I don't remember the brand since I don't eat often. But a lot of them are not salty like it used to be before in U.S. Usually, I cook a little bit since my stomach can't handle fermented shrimp paste. I think 1/2 - 1 teaspoon is good enough, then you mix with water, lemon, garlic, and sugar to reduce the salt.
Peter Frank
Delicious but a bit of prep work (and a lot of dishes to wash). My pieces of hake flaked apart when I tried to flip them — I used cast iron and might have had better luck with a nonstick pan. Nonetheless, I ended up adding a couple of tablespoons of water with the onions to deglaze the pan, and the bits of fond added flavor to the end product. The fried onions on top felt like gilding the lily. Next time I’ll serve with some roasted green beans or Brussels sprouts tossed with the extra sauce.
Sheila
Same comment regarding sauce.
Mark
Great recipe - a fun, light dish that's quite easy: marinate fish, make sauce, cook noodles, cook fish, flash cook veg and then toss everything together BAM! Done. However, the recipe for the sauce is way too large, netting a cup of dressing for this delicate Asian salad of sorts. Therefore, cut that part of the recipe in half, or use as a marinade for another dish/time.
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