Vietnamese Fried Fish with Green Mango Salad

5 from 1 vote

Vietnamese Fried Fish with Green Mango Salad

Vietnamese Fried Fish with Green Mango Salad (Ca Chien Mam Xoai) is unbelievably easy to make, yet very tasty and refreshing. The fish is fried until crispy and served with crunchy green mango and a sweet and sour fish sauce dressing.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: crispy fish, green mango salad

Servings: people

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Sophie

Ingredients

1 lb fish fillets (choose meaty and firm white fish)
1 green mango (unripe and firm)
salt
pepper
cooking oil
cilantro (for ganishing)

For the Dressing

2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bird's-eye chili, seeds removed, finely minced

US Customary - Grams

Instructions

If you have time, remove the fish from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before cooking.
Peel the mango and slice into thin strips. Set aside. You can refrigerate it until you are ready to put the dish together.
Place a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Add water, fish sauce and sugar and heat the mixture until some bubbles start to appear, then turn off the stove. Transfer to a clean bowl and wait for a couple of minutes to let it cool down slightly. Add lime juice, garlic and bird's-eye chili. Whisk to combine and adjust to your liking.
Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over the fish fillets. Place a pan over medium heat, and add a generous amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the fillets and fry until golden and crispy, flip once or twice. Towards the end, you may want to turn up the heat a little bit to crisp up the exterior.
Transfer fish to serving plates. Place julienned green mango next to the fish, garnish with some cilantro and drizzle the dressing over everything. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

My green mango is fairly large. I use about 6 oz of julienned mango.

When the dressing is simmered, both the taste and smell will be more mellow and pleasant than simply combining all ingredients in a bowl. If you don't feel like washing an extra pot, try to use hot water to mix the dressing.

Since the green mango is already quite tangy, the dressing will be on the sweet-salty side with a little bit of sourness.

This dish can be made with either fish fillets or whole fish. Traditionally, people in Saigon fry a whole tilapia for this dish. Since I don't like tilapia, I use fillets of parrotfish which is quite popular in Southern Vietnam. I think grouper is also a great choice.

Nutrition