Cha Ca recipe (Vietnamese Cooking Series)

Cha Ca is one of my favourite recipes of Vietnamese cuisine. The Cha Ca recipe consists in clay pot fish marinated with turmeric and fresh dill. The marinate gives the fish an absolutely delicious and aromatic taste. It is also quite flexible, since you can use virtually any kind of fish. That being said, I would prefer to use firmer fish (tuna, mackerel, halibut…), since it will absorb more of the marinade flavour.

I learned how to cook this dish in the Vietnamese city of Hoi An, in a Vietnamese cooking class organized by Red Bridge Cooking School. If you want to have a look at my overall experience in this cooking school, have a look at my full review of Red Bridge.

Ingredients for Cha Ca recipe (for 4 people)

For the fish marinade

• 300g of fresh fish fillets with skin (we used mackerel)
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh turmeric
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

*Tip: for a fresher, spicier taste, you can include a piece of ginger or galangal at the time of making the marinade.

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 shallots
• 1/2 fresh chilli
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon of pepper
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce

For serving

• Handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
• Handful of spring onion, finely chopped
• Handful of roasted peanuts
• Steamed rice/rice noodles

Preparation of the Cha Ca recipe

• Peel and cut the fresh turmeric and add to mortar. Add salt and pepper and crush with pestle. Add oil.
• Cut the fish into 2 cm thick fillets. Mix with turmeric marinade. Let it sit for at least 1h to absorb the flavours.

• Meanwhile, pound the garlic, chilli and shallots in the mortar.
• Heat a clay pot with vegetable oil and add the crushed mixture with pepper. Cook gently until they begin to brown.
• Sprinkle in the sugar and allow it to caramelize for about 1 minute.
• When the mixture is a deep golden colour, add the water and fish sauce and bring to boil. Mix frequently with chopsticks.

• While boiling the sauce, gently cook the fish in a fry-pan or barbecue for 2 minutes.

• Add the fish cutlets to the pot and cook on a very low simmer for 10 minutes, mixing gently often.
• Sprinkle chopped dill, spring onion and peanuts over the fish.
• Serve with steamed rice or rice noodles.

Closing statement

This is a very easy and tasty recipe that takes advantage of the different flavours of different vegetables and spices to give the fish a completely new twist. Unlike other Vietnamese dishes, the Cha Ca recipe requires ingredients that are easily found in any market.

If you want to know more about Red Bridge Cooking Class or other recipes of Vietnamese cuisine, have a look at this posts:

If you enjoyed this, you will probably also like:

→ Vietnamese recipe: Pho Bo

→ Thai food: Pad Thai

→ Hoi An food guide: 7 must-eat dishes in Hoi An → 10 Must-Try Hoi An Restaurants

→ Vietnamese Cooking Class in Hoi An with Red Bridge