Explore the simplicity of making river fish and mustard greens soup, a dish that graces the daily meals of Vietnamese families.
River fish is a favored choice for its cool and mild meat, versatile for dishes like stew, grill, fry, and especially sour soup with mustard greens. In this scorching weather, river fish and mustard greens soup serves as a refreshing delight. Best enjoyed hot, the soup releases the enticing fragrance of ginger and the sweet essence of fish, a true representation of the blistering summer season.
Ingredients:
- Opt for 500g of fresh river fish.
- Choose a bunch of mustard greens.
- Gather ginger, dried shallots, cooking oil, various spices, fish sauce, rock salt, and ground pepper.

If river fish is unavailable, you can substitute with small regular fish.

Choose the right kind of bitter mustard greens (bitter mustard) to make a delicious soup.
How to cook river fish and mustard greens soup:
Step 1:
- When you buy river fish, scale, fin, gut, and clean it. Rinse it thoroughly with clean water.
- Thoroughly wash the carp with coarse salt to reduce the fishy smell and remove excess slime.
- Boil water in a pot and simmer the fish for about 15 minutes until cooked. Then, lift the fish out and let it drain, allowing it to cool.
Step 2:
- Pick and discard aged parts of the mustard greens. Rinse the greens with clean water and soak them in a mild salt solution for approximately 15 minutes.
- After soaking in the saltwater, give it another thorough rinse and let it drain.
- Slice the mustard greens into small, delicate strips.
Step 3:
- Once the fish has cooled, extract the flesh from the sides. For parts with many bones like the head and belly, use a mortar or a grinder to make a smooth paste.

- After grinding, strain through a sieve, retaining the liquid and meat, and discarding the residue. You can filter it multiple times for a concentrated broth.
- Peel the dried shallots and finely chop them. Peel and finely cut the ginger.
- Heat cooking oil in a pan, sauté the chopped dried shallots until fragrant, then add the fish meat. Season with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of peppercorns. Stir for about 10 minutes to marinate the fish meat, then turn off the heat.

- Add water to the pot along with the filtered fish liquid, enough for the desired serving. Bring it to a boil on the stove.
Sauté the ingredients on a high flame while adding the fresh greens. When the veggies are tender, transfer everything into a pot of boiling broth. Let the soup simmer on high heat for about 3 minutes, season it to taste, add ginger and 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, then turn off the stove.

A delightful dish, the soup with catfish is a perfect blend of savory, sweet, and refreshing flavors that complement rice wonderfully. The bone removal step may take some effort, but it's well worth it for a bowl of delicious, cooling, and nutritious soup, isn't it?
Wishing you success with the catfish and cabbage soup recipe!
Catfish and cabbage soup not only satisfies the taste buds but also acts as a medicinal remedy. The preferred cabbage for this dish is the bitter Chinese cabbage, known for its slightly bitter taste. This cabbage variety aids in promoting respiratory health, providing comfort to the chest and hips, regulating kidney function, relieving coughs, and inducing sweating. Typically, when preparing catfish and cabbage soup, ginger is added to counteract any fishy odor, enhance the flavor, and aid digestion. This ginger contributes to promoting digestion, warming the stomach, inducing sweating, preventing nausea, and more. In summary, catfish and cabbage soup is not just a bowl of soup but also a bowl of medicinal benefits, promoting blood circulation, nourishing vital energy, aiding digestion, inducing sweating, and detoxifying.
In the modern era, Vietnamese people have easy access to a variety of Western, Chinese, European, and American cuisines. However, no matter how delicious or exotic these dishes may be, they can never replace the familiar taste of childhood, intertwined with memories of family, community, and the village like this catfish and cabbage soup. Today, PasGo introduces you to an ideal venue where you can rediscover the childhood memories of your mother's cooking. That place is the Ngoai O Tran Duy Hung Restaurant – a destination to savor dishes with the essence of the northern plains, featuring flavors deeply rooted in the weather, climate, geography, and lifestyle of the people in the Red River Delta.

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Vuong Hoai Compilation – PasGo.vn
