Vietnamese Fish Porridge (Cháo Cá)

I didn’t enjoy eating Cháo Cá until I visited Vietnam in 2006 and had a mind-blowing Cháo Cá experience in my parents’ hometown. I remember chillin at the night market with my cousins and getting a bowl of flavorful Cháo Cá loaded with tender flaky fish, spicy pepper, and toppings. Something about that experience made me fall in love with it and now I try to eat it every chance I get.

For this recipe, I used pacific fish cod filets but any flaky white fish works great. I love the clean taste and texture of the fish and it’s light too.

Ingredients:
1 pound flaky fish filet, cut into pieces
8 cups of low sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup jasmine rice
1/4 cup glutinous sweet rice
1 knob of ginger
1/4 onion
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Accompaniments:
bean sprouts
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
fried shallots
fried garlic
black pepper
chili garlic sauce
bean sprouts
Chinese doughnuts

Steps:
Marinate Fish – Marinate fish filets with 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, and pepper to taste. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Make Cháo Cá – In a medium stockpot, sauté glutinous rice, jasmine rice, ginger, and onion until brown and toasty. Pour in chicken broth, season with fish sauce and salt, and bring to a boil. Add marinated fish filets and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the cháo reaches the desired consistency you want.

Prepare Cháo Cá Bowl – Scoop Cháo Cá into a bowl, add your favorite toppings and enjoy hot.

Tips:

• Any flaky white fish works great for this recipe.
• If you don’t have glutinous rice, you can just use regular Jasmine rice.