Fermented fish consommé (Bún mắm thông thoáng)
Servings: 4 people
This fermented fish consommé gets its intense flavour from a rich bone broth and a liquor made from boiling fermented fish. Inspired by Vietnamese bun mam, the clear broth packs a flavour punch that is sure to create some photo-worthy facial expressions.
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Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
Fermented fish soup
- 400 g fermented fish (mắm cá sặc) Or 200g mắm cá sặc, 200g mắm cá linh. Or substitute with 200 ml Thai pla ra.
- 1 liter water
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 500 ml coconut water
- 2 liters pork and chicken bone broth Need to do a day ahead.
- 2 stalks lemongrass smashed a little
- 2 Japanese eggplants the long thin type
Consommé
- 10 egg whites
Additions
- 100 g firm white fish fillet e.g. cod
- 4 prawns
- 100 g fish cake
- 100 g roast pork belly
- Vegetable platter bean sprouts, basil, garlic chives, sliced red chilis, and limes
- 300 g thick rice vermicelli
Instructions
Fermented fish soup
- In a saucepan, add the fermented fish to one litre of water. Bring to a high simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes. You might want to turn on your extractor fan, as this step generates some odours some will find unpleasant. If you are using pla ra, just mix that into the litre of water and boil for 5 minutes.
- Cut the eggplant into bite-size pieces then soak in salted water for 15 minutes
- In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in oil until just starting to brown.
- Add 2 liters of bone broth, 500ml coconut water, the diced eggplant, and the lemongrass stalks.
- Through a fine strainer, pour in the fermented fish stock.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Cut up the bass fillet and fish cake into bite-sized pieces. Shell and de-vein the prawns.
- Bring soup up to a medium simmer and lower the seafood into the soup using a metal basket, such as a ramen noodle strainer. Keep in the soup until the fish and prawns are cooked through. Set aside.
- Remove the soup from the heat.
- Remove the eggplant from the soup and set aside.
- Remove the lemongrass from the soup and discard.
Consommé
- Add the egg whites to the soup and immediately use an immersion blender to combine well.
- Return to medium heat. As the egg whites cook they will rise to the surface along with sediment and other fine particles in the soup.
- Remove the egg white layer and strain the now clear soup to remove any remaining bits.
- Reheat before serving.
Assembly
- Cook the noodles until al-dente.
- Arrange the vegetable platter.
- For each preheated bowl…
- Place some noodles in the centre of the bowl.
- Arrange around the noodles a piece or 2 of fish, a couple of prawns, a piece of fish cake, and a couple of pieces of pork.
- Spoon over about 300ml hot consommé.
- Each diner adds vegetables or herbs of their choice to the soup before enjoying it.
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