Deep Fried Marble Goby Soon Hock with Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce Recipe

Deep Fried Marble Goby Soon Hock with Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce

Spicy chilli and lemongrass sauce or Tuong Ot Xa is popular condiment in Vietnamese cuisine. Even the name is chilli and lemongrass, this kickin sauce consist a lot of ingredients. Basic vietnamese style consist chilli, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots. Beside, rice vinegar, fish sauce, palm sugar and sometimes dried prawn added to enhanced the flavour. For making a pleasant chilli and lemongrass sauce texture, i use only the soft white inner part of the lemongrass. Tuong Ot Xa can be served as a condiment for noodle, grilled protein, or even steamed fish. I like to make a couple jar of this chilli and lemongrass sauce and using it for quicky chicken stir fry, mushrooms stir fry or nasi goreng (fried rice).

Vietnamese Lemongrass & Chilli Sauce served with Deep Fried Soon Hock Marble Goby Fish and Pickled Shredded Cucumber & Carrot

Marble Goby Fish or Oxyeleotris marmorata, the marbled sleeper, marbled gudgeon, or Soon Hock in Cantonese. Betutu, ketutu, betutu, bakut, bakutut, belosoh , boso, boboso, bodobodo, ikan bodoh, gabus bodoh, ikan sioto, ketutuk, ikan malas, ikan hantu or ghost fish in Indonesian lives in the Mekong and Chao Praya basins, rivers and other water bodies in Malaysia, Singapore, Indochina, Philippines and Indonesia. Marble goby fish is famous among indonesia chinese descent for it’s pricey succulent meat. This largest freshwater goby can reach 10 kg in suitable inviroment. Though it’s had some scarry looks, it so delicacy hand the high ratio of albumin protein can help u healing your wound. Steaming it’s the best way to preserve the natural flavour of this fish, yet it’s so simple, healty and delicacy. But since my sister not really like steamed fish, she asked me to deep fried it. Make sure you set the fire at the highest and put the fish right after the oil reach smoking hot. This technique make the fish skin is crispy and the flessh is still moist and succulent.

Deep Fried Fish with Spicy Vietnamese Style Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce

This species is an economically important fish in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. It is highly popular among the Chinese community due to its fine texture, tasty white flesh and is believed to have healing properties. It is said, best eaten after surgeries or childbirths. In Malaysia, commercialization of this type of fish is not widely established. Demands are largely dependent on wild populations thus fetching high prices in the market. Marble goby derived from the marble stone colored skin. This fish is ultimately pricey because it’s white and succulent meat and rarely farm raised because the fish neglect a commercial pellet. Marble goby like live catch for their prey and it’s become a cost production problems.

Vietnamese Spicy Chili and Lemongrass Sauce with Deep Fried Fish (Sun Hock or Marble Goby)

Live Marble Goby Fish, Ikan Betutu or Ikan Ketutu

Angry looks of Marble Goby Fish, Soon Hock, Sun Hok, Ikan Betutu or Ikan Malas

Expensive Marble Goby Fish Rp.320.000 (32 USD ) per Kg

Deep Fried Marble Goby or Soon Hock Fish Recipe:

• 1 Medium size marble goby or soon hock fish, scaled, gutted, buterflied
• 1/2 kafir lime juice
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Deep Fried Marble Goby or Soon Hock Fish :

• Season the fish with salt, pepper, kaffir lime juice and turmeric powder
• Let it marinated for about 30 minutes in the fridge
• Drain the fish well
• Heat up enought oil for deep frying in a deep fryer until smoking hot
• Put the fish into the deep fryer and deep fried it for about 7-8 minutes until the skin is nice golden brown
• Drain the fish from the oil

Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce Recipe :

• 1/2 cup red cayenne chili peppers
• 1/2 cup red bird eyes chili peppers
• 6 lemongrass stalks, use the soft white part only
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6 shallots
• 1 tbsp dried prawn*optional
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp or more vegetable oil
• Salt, pepper and palm sugar for taste
• 1 cup Water

How to make Spicy Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce:

• Soak the dried dried prawn, drain and process it until formed fine paste, set aside
• Process the all the chilli, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots until formed a fine paste, set aside
• Heat up the oil in a heavy bottom sauce pan until fragrant
• add the chilli paste and saute another 3 minutes
• Add the vinegar, fish sauce and season with salt, pepper and palm sugar
• Add the water and bring it to boil, simmer it until the liquid evaporates and the sauce thicken.

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