Steamed fish is a favorite New Year’s dish among Chinese people because it symbolizes wealth and prosperity throughout the new year. In Vietnam, depending on the beliefs of each region and family, some people abstain or not. If your family doesn’t abstain from fish and has beer on hand, try this delicious beer-steamed fish dish right away!
1. How to make fish steamed with beer and lemongrass – Carp steamed with beer
Carp is not only delicious, nutritious, and good for the health of pregnant women and children, but is also used as medicine. But carp is quite fishy, so if not carefully prepared, it can be difficult for some people to eat. Meanwhile, beer is a drink that can eliminate the fishy smell of carp. In particular, beer also helps make steamed carp meat sweeter and more fragrant, so every time the dish is mentioned fish steamed with beer is that people immediately think of the dish Carp steamed with beer not something else.
1.1. How to choose delicious carp to steam beer for an attractive finished product
To make a delicious beer-steamed carp dish, we need to know how to choose carp. Accordingly, in Vietnam there are two types of carp: grass carp and black carp. In there:
Grass carp is also called white carp: the identifying characteristic is that the whole body is light yellow and the back is dark. The body is elongated, cylindrical, the belly is round and concave at the tail. The mouth is wide and has no antennae. Weight is about 1-3kg.
Black carp: identifying characteristics are its entire body is black with a dark black back and a milky white belly. When touched, the meat feels firm, with large bones and fewer bones than white carp. Weight is about 3 – 5kg.
To compare the quality, black carp tastes better. With white carp, you should choose those weighing 2kg or more to eat better. Especially for those who eat fish steamed with beer On the first day of the new year, if you abstain from eating the tail to have an abundance of wealth in the new year, you should choose large carp to eat mainly the middle part of the body.
1.2. Ingredients for making steamed carp with lemongrass beer
With dishes fish steamed with beer For this you need to prepare the following ingredients:
1 – 2kg of delicious carp
2 cans of beer
1 ginger root
3-5 lemongrass (depending on your preference, eat more or less lemongrass)
3 tomatoes
Spices, onions, garlic, seasoning seeds, delicious powder, lemon and chili… Some people like to marinate with oyster sauce, fish sauce and some sauces to make it rich depending on taste.
Ingredients for making fish steamed with beer and lemongrass – Carp steamed with beer (YouTube screenshot).
1.3. How to make steamed carp with lemongrass beer
Step 1: Scale the fish, dissect along the fish’s body to remove internal organs, cut off the fins, peel off the gills, wash the fish, then rub with large grains of salt and white wine to remove the slime and fishy smell of the carp.
Step 2: If you eat the whole fish, use a knife to cut a few lines on the fish body so that when marinated, the spices will absorb more evenly. In case you abstain from the tail, cut the head and tail into the refrigerator and eat later. Only cut the middle part into 2-3 small pieces to marinate and steam with beer.
Step 3: Wash tomatoes and cut into segments. Cut dill and green onions, wash and cut into pieces about 3cm long. Peel ginger, garlic, lemongrass, crush and finely chop. Remove the stem from the chili pepper, remove the seeds to make it less spicy (if you want to eat it spicy, leave the seeds in) and slice.
Step 4: Add all the spices prepared in step 3 to the fish, add a little seasoning, seasoning, MSG, oyster sauce, and marinade depending on taste and preference. Marinate the fish for 30 minutes to let the spices absorb evenly. You can flip the fish while marinating or put on gloves and rub spices directly into each cut to make the fish meat absorb more seasoning.
Step 5: There are 2 ways to steam fish. Some people steam it in a steaming basket, while others steam it directly. Each style will give a different flavor, but steaming with a basket is still the most popular. Because when steaming directly with beer without a steamer, you need to pay attention to the amount of beer poured in, neither too little nor too much, and not to submerge the fish, making it difficult to cook evenly like steaming with a steamer.
Many people wonder fish steamed with beer How many minutes does it take to cook? The answer is steaming for about 10-15 minutes. To add more flavor to the beer-steamed fish dish, when marinating, add a little green onion and dill, then sprinkle it on top after it’s cooked and steam for another 3-5 minutes to make it more delicious.
How to make fish steamed with beer and lemongrass – Carp steamed with beer (Photo: Anhtp).
2. How to make fish steamed with mugwort beer – Carp steamed with mugwort beer
In case you can’t buy carp, you can use carp steamed in beer, which is also very delicious and nutritious just like carp. Especially when combined with wormwood – a vegetable and a medicine in oriental medicine with a bitter taste and warm properties that help reduce inflammation, antioxidants, lower blood pressure, bronchodilator, protect the liver,… it will be very good. for health.
2.1. How to choose delicious carp to steam mugwort beer
With the carp steamed with wormwood beer, choosing fatty fish is not delicious and not worth the money because it is female carp, has a lot of fat and internal organs, is very boring to eat and has little meat. Instead, choose male carp with the identifying characteristic of a slim and slender body. These fish will give more meat, firm meat, less internal organs, and less fat, so they are less greasy to eat. Besides, when buying, you also need to choose fish that is alive, with clear eyes, bright color, even scales, not slimy to the touch, no strange smell and has good elasticity to make it delicious.
2.2. Ingredients for making carp steamed with mugwort beer
1 carp weighs 1 – 2kg.
Mugwort (according to needs, if you eat more, add more, if you eat less, add less)
1 ginger root
3 chili peppers
5 teaspoons fish sauce
2 cans of beer
Basic spices include sugar, salt, pepper, seasoning powder, MSG…
Ingredients for making steamed fish with mugwort beer – Carp steamed with mugwort beer (Photo: Anhtp).
2.3. How to make carp steamed with mugwort beer
Step 1: Cut the fish open, remove internal organs, bile, gills and wash. Use salt, vinegar or rice water to remove the slime and remove the fishy smell, then rinse with clean water. If using the whole fish, make a few slits so that it can absorb the spices easily when marinated. Otherwise, you can cut each piece apart.
Step 2: Pick and wash the wormwood. Ginger is peeled, crushed, and finely chopped. Remove the stem from the chili, remove the seeds, and cut in half.
Step 3: Marinate the fish with spices, seasoning powder, MSG, pepper,… 1 teaspoon of each and then mix the fish well to absorb. Marinate for about 20 minutes, then add minced ginger and wormwood into the fish’s belly and head.
Step 4: If you have a lot of wormwood, you can strip the bottom of the pot first, then place the fish on top, add chili and 2 cans of beer, cover and steam over high heat for 10-15 minutes. After the fish is soft, open the lid and add fish sauce to taste to enhance the flavor and turn off the stove. Remove to a decorative plate and you have the finished product.
How to make steamed fish with mugwort beer – Carp steamed with mugwort beer (Anhtp).
Along with 2 recipes How to make steamed fish with lemongrass beer and How to make steamed fish with mugwort beer Above, you can switch back and forth between carp and carp ingredients or apply the same to other types of fish you have available to enjoy delicious dishes right away. With dishes fish steamed with beer You can eat this with rice or roll it with vermicelli and rice paper, it will be very delicious. Wish you success!
