What Are Delicious Mackerel Recipes? Unveiling 10 Authentic Family-Favorite Dishes

Largehead hairtail also known as beltfish, or ribbonfish, is a type of seafood with white, slightly chewy meat, a natural sweetness, and is notably less fishy than many other marine fish. Therefore, hairtail has become an ideal ingredient for preparing numerous family dishes ranging from frying and braising to grilling or cooking in soup.

Interestingly, despite its affordable price, the nutritional value of hairtail is quite high. The fish contains plenty of easily absorbable protein, omega-3, vitamin D, along with minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc, making it very suitable for meals for children, the elderly, or those needing nutritional supplements.

In this article, Ola Squid will reveal from A-Z what to cook with hairtail fish, how to prepare it so it isn’t fishy, as well as 10 complete recipes that you can apply immediately in your family kitchen.

What are the best hairtail fish dishes?

Crispy fried hairtail

Crispy fried hairtail is a dish that seems simple but is addictive thanks to its golden, crunchy outer layer and sweet, tender fish meat inside. This is also the dish many people choose when they want to fully experience the characteristic flavor of hairtail fish.

Ingredients

• 500g hairtail fish, cut into sections
• Salt, ground pepper
• Crushed ginger
• Cornstarch or crispy frying flour (optional)
• Cooking oil

How to make

• Wash the fish with diluted salt water and a few slices of ginger to deodorize the fishy smell, then drain thoroughly.
• Marinate the fish with salt, pepper, and a bit of ginger for 10–15 minutes.
• If you want it to stay crispy longer, roll the fish through a thin layer of flour.
• Heat the oil, drop the fish in, and fry until golden brown on both sides.
• Remove the fish onto paper towels and serve hot with chili garlic lime fish sauce.

See more: Suggestions for 2 ways to make crispy fried squid, deliciously breaded fried squid

Fried hairtail in tomato sauce

If you like dishes that are both flavorful and have a light thickness, fried hairtail in tomato sauce is the perfect choice. The shiny red tomato sauce blended with fragrant, soft fish meat creates an irresistible dish to eat with rice. This is also an ideal dish to answer the question: What to cook with hairtail fish.

Ingredients

• 500g hairtail fish
• 3-4 ripe tomatoes
• Minced shallots, garlic
• Sugar, salt, fish sauce
• Cooking oil, pepper, green onions

How to make

• Wash the fish, lightly fry both sides until golden.
• Sauté the shallots and garlic until fragrant, add tomatoes and stir-fry until soft.
• Season with fish sauce, sugar, and a little water to create a thick sauce mixture.
• Place the fish in and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, flipping evenly so the fish absorbs the sauce.
• Sprinkle with green onions and pepper before turning off the heat.

Fried hairtail with fish sauce

Rich, fragrant, and attractive are the words to describe fried hairtail with fish sauce. The layer of garlic, sugar, and fish sauce evenly coating the fish surface helps the dish achieve a harmony between salty, sweet, and spicy.

Ingredients

• Hairtail fish, cut into sections
• Minced garlic, minced chili
• Good fish sauce
• Sugar, filtered water
• Cooking oil

How to make

• Fry the fish until golden brown then set on a plate.
• Mix the sauce: 2 spoons of fish sauce + 1 spoon of sugar + 2 spoons of water.
• Sauté the garlic and chili until fragrant, pour the sauce mixture in and cook until slightly thickened.
• Add the fish and toss gently so the sauce coats evenly.
• Simmer for about 3 minutes then turn off the heat, serve with hot rice for a very appetising meal.

Fried hairtail with lemongrass and chili

The aroma of lemongrass combined with the spiciness of chili creates an attractive golden, crispy coating. This is a fried dish suitable for cool days, perfectly paired with white rice or fresh rice vermicelli.

Ingredients

• Hairtail fish: 400-500g
• Minced lemongrass
• Minced chili
• Garlic, salt, pepper
• Turmeric powder (to enhance beautiful color)
• Cooking oil

How to make

• Wash the fish, drain, then marinate with salt, pepper, lemongrass, chili, garlic, and a little turmeric powder for 20 minutes.
• Heat the oil, fry the fish until golden and crispy.
• Remove the fish, then put the remaining lemongrass and chili into the pan and fry quickly to create a crispy topping.
• Sprinkle over the fish surface and enjoy.

Reference more: What to cook with herring? Top 8 simple processing methods

Braised hairtail with turmeric

In the list of hairtail fish dishes, the braised dish with turmeric is always popular because of its pungent aroma, beautiful yellow color, and the excellent ability of turmeric to eliminate fishy odors. This dish is very suitable for young children, the elderly, and those who are hesitant to eat fishy-smelling fish.

Ingredients

• 400–500g hairtail fish
• Finely pounded fresh turmeric
• Ginger, garlic, chili
• Fish sauce, sugar, pepper
• Cooking oil

How to make

• Wash the fish, drain.
• Marinate the fish with turmeric, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and a little sugar for 20 minutes.
• Heat the pot, add oil and arrange the fish for braising over low heat.
• Add a little boiling water so the fish absorbs the flavors evenly, braise until the liquid thickens.
• Add pepper and chili at the end to increase the flavor.

Braised hairtail with pepper

Braised hairtail with pepper is a dish imbued with traditional style, especially suitable for cool days or family meals needing warmth. The pungent spiciness of pepper penetrates deep into each fiber of the fish, making the dish richer and much more fragrant. The attractive point is that hairtail has quite firm meat and few fine bones, so even when braised for a long time over low heat, it does not fall apart. As a result, the dish retains the natural tender sweetness of hairtail fish, while creating a thick, fragrant braised sauce.

Ingredients

• 500g hairtail fish, cut into sections
• Coarsely crushed black pepper
• Shallots, garlic, ginger
• Good fish sauce, sugar, a little caramel sauce for color
• Bird’s eye chili
• Cooking oil

How to make

• Wash the fish thoroughly, drain and then marinate with fish sauce, crushed pepper, minced shallots and garlic, a little sugar, and ginger for 20 minutes.
• Sauté shallots and garlic with oil until fragrant, add the fish and stir gently to sear both sides.
• Add boiling water just barely covering the fish surface, lower the heat and braise gently.
• When the braising liquid thickens, add more pepper and chili to increase the pungency.
• Serve hot with white rice to clearly feel the rich flavor and long-lasting aroma of pepper.

See now: What to cook with mackerel? Top 16 authentic preparation methods

Braised hairtail with pickled greens

If you are used to the salty-sweet taste of traditional braised dishes, you should try braised hairtail with pickled greens, a dish with a very attractive slight sourness. Pickled greens help neutralize the richness, while creating a crunchiness that stimulates the taste buds. When braised with hairtail fish, the liquid becomes light, clear, and has a very easy-to-eat gentle sour aroma.

Ingredients

• 400–500g hairtail fish
• 200g pickled greens (not too sour)
• Tomatoes, shallots
• Fish sauce, sugar, pepper
• Chili, cooking oil

How to make

• Wash the hairtail and drain. Rinse the pickled greens slightly if they are too salty.
• Sauté shallots until fragrant, add tomatoes and stir-fry until soft to create a natural sweetness.
• Add the fish and stir-fry briefly, add fish sauce and a little sugar.
• Add pickled greens and boiling water, braise over low heat for about 15-20 minutes.
• Season again so the sour and salty tastes are balanced, sprinkle with pepper and turn off the heat. This dish is very flavorful when served with hot rice or white porridge.

Braised hairtail with pork belly

This dish brings a perfect combination between the richness of pork belly and the gentle sweetness of hairtail fish. When braised together, the fat from the pork belly is released and mixes with the braising liquid, creating a glossy and characteristic thickness. This dish is suitable for families who like braised dishes with deep color and intense flavor but without too much of a fishy smell.

Ingredients

• 300g hairtail fish
• 200g pork belly, cut into pieces
• Fish sauce, sugar, pepper, caramel sauce for color
• Shallots, garlic
• Bird’s eye chili

How to make

• Marinate the fish and pork belly with fish sauce, sugar, minced shallots and garlic, and pepper for 15 minutes.
• Sauté shallots and garlic until fragrant, add pork belly and stir until slightly browned.
• Add the fish to the pot, add caramel sauce and a sufficient amount of water.
• Braise over low heat for 20–25 minutes, flip gently so the fish doesn’t break.
• When the liquid thickens, sprinkle more pepper and chili. Serving with white rice is guaranteed to make the rice pot “empty before you know it”.

Grilled hairtail

If you like dishes that retain the original flavor of sea fish, then grilled hairtail with salt and chili or grilled in foil is an option not to be missed. The high temperature helps the fish skin tighten up, while the meat inside remains soft and sweet with a light sea aroma. This is also a dish that helps you directly perceive the freshness of hairtail fish.

Ingredients

• Whole hairtail or cut into segments
• Granulated salt, minced chili
• Minced garlic
• Cooking oil
• Lemongrass, ginger (if grilling in foil)

How to make

• Grill with salt and chili:

• • Mix granulated salt, minced chili, garlic, and cooking oil into a thick mixture.
  • Rub evenly onto the fish and marinate for 20 minutes.
  • Grill over charcoal or in an oven at 200°C for 15–20 minutes.

• Grill in foil:

• • Place ginger, lemongrass, and garlic on foil.
  • Place the fish on top, add a little salt and cooking oil.
  • Wrap tightly and grill for 20 minutes so the fish is soft and fragrant. Serve with lemon salt and pepper for the perfect taste.

Hairtail sour soup

One of the most attractive heat-relieving dishes that must be mentioned is hairtail sour soup. Thanks to its clear sweetness and low fishiness, the broth cooked from hairtail is clear, fragrant, and very compatible with characteristic ingredients like tamarind, tomatoes, pineapple, taro stem, and bean sprouts. This is a dish that is both delicious and nutritious, suitable for all family members.

Ingredients

• 400g hairtail fish
• Sour tamarind or tamarind pulp
• Tomatoes, pineapple, taro stem, bean sprouts
• Green onions, rice paddy herb
• Fish sauce, salt, sugar

How to make

• Wash the fish with diluted salt water, drain.
• Sauté shallots until fragrant, add tomatoes and stir-fry to create a beautiful broth base.
• Add water, add tamarind and bring to a boil.
• Drop the fish in and cook for 7-10 minutes, skim the foam to keep the broth clear.
• Add taro stem, pineapple, bean sprouts and re-season for a balanced sour, sweet, and salty taste.
• Turn off the heat and add rice paddy herb and green onions to create a characteristic fragrance.

See more:

• What is the best way to cook grouper? Revealing 12 attractive grouper dishes

• What is the best way to cook pomfret? Top 13 delicious pomfret preparation methods

How to choose and prepare hairtail without a fishy smell

Hairtail is a seafood with a characteristic flavor, but if you choose it incorrectly or prepare it improperly, the dish can be fishy or lose its natural sweetness. Therefore, mastering the secret of selecting fresh hairtail and how to process it before cooking is extremely important. This is also the decisive step in whether your hairtail dish achieves the standard family taste.

• How to choose fresh and delicious hairtail: To keep the dish’s natural sweetness and aroma, you need to choose very fresh fish. When going to the market or supermarket, observe the following features:

• • Bright silver skin: Fresh hairtail usually has a layer of shiny light silver skin, not dull or patchy.
  • Tough and elastic body: Press lightly with your hand; if the meat rebounds quickly, it means the fish is fresh.
  • Clear eyes, not cloudy: This is an important characteristic to recognize fresh fish.
  • No strange smell: Fresh sea fish will have a characteristic light smell, not pungent or stale.
  • Buy whole fish: If possible, buy the fish whole, not yet filleted, to ensure quality.

In addition, hairtail has a long and slender body; if the fish is broken into many pieces or the belly part is soft, it is a sign the fish has been sitting for a long time.

• How to properly prepare hairtail without a fishy smell: To ensure the dish meets standards, you can apply these preparation steps, which are very effective for all hairtail fish recipes:

• • Wash with diluted salt water: This step helps remove slime and reduce the fishy smell. You can add a few slices of ginger to increase effectiveness.
  • Clean the fish belly thoroughly: The belly of hairtail fish easily develops an odor, so it needs to be opened, entrails removed, and washed 2–3 times.
  • Soak in ginger water or white wine: Just 5 minutes is enough for the fish to have a light aroma and less fishiness, suitable for braising, grilling, and soup dishes.
  • Wipe dry before marinating: This helps spices adhere better and also limits oil splashing when frying.

With these steps, any recipe in the list of What to cook with hairtail fish will achieve full flavor and family standards.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does hairtail have bones?

Hairtail belongs to the group of long-bodied fish, having a large backbone running along the body, but almost no fine bones. This is the reason hairtail is particularly suitable for young children and the elderly, as when eating, they do not need to worry too much about bone fragments like in scad, mackerel, or small pomfret.

The backbone is also quite hard and easy to see, so when preparing braised dishes, grilled dishes, or sour soup, you can keep it intact to help the broth be sweeter. If you want it easier to eat, simply separate the backbone after the fish is cooked, which is extremely simple.

Is hairtail a river fish or a sea fish?

Hairtail is a sea fish, living mainly in warm sea areas, especially appearing in large numbers in the central seas of Vietnam like Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Khanh Hoa.

This species has a long body like a sword, with silver-colored skin, so it is also called “beltfish”. Because it lives in the middle water layer near the surface, hairtail has little mud and few impurities, so its fishy smell is lighter than many other sea fish. This explains why hairtail dishes like frying, grilling, or braising all have a very easy-to-eat gentle sweetness.

Who should and should not eat hairtail?

Hairtail is rich in omega-3, protein, and minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc, so it is suitable for almost everyone. However, a few notes will help you use hairtail more appropriately:

Should eat hairtail if:

• Adults want to supplement omega-3 for heart health.
• Children need to boost immunity and brain development.
• The elderly want to improve joint health.
• People on a diet or wanting to keep fit because hairtail is low in fat and rich in protein.

Should not eat too much if:

• You are allergic to seafood.
• People undergoing treatment for gout (eat in moderate amounts due to purine content).
• Pregnant women in the first trimester should choose very fresh fish to avoid bacterial infection.

Overall, hairtail is a safe and suitable choice for daily meals when prepared correctly.

What is delicious to make with dried hairtail?

Dried hairtail is a “more intense” version of the fresh fish, with a natural salty-sweet taste and characteristic chewiness. As a result, dried hairtail can be processed into many attractive dishes, very suitable for a change of taste or as a snack.

Some delicious dishes from dried hairtail:

• Crispy fried dried hairtail: Simply deep fry until golden and crispy, dipped in tamarind sauce, it’s extremely addictive.
• Salty-sweet simmered dried hairtail: Simmer with garlic, chili, fish sauce, and sugar until thickened – this dish goes great with rice.
• Shredded dried hairtail mixed with mango salad: The salty-sweet taste of the dried fish blended with green mango creates a salad that you “never get tired of”.
• Grilled dried hairtail: Grilling over charcoal or in an oven helps release the characteristic aroma of the fish, with chewy and flavorful meat.

If you have ever asked What are the best hairtail fish dishes, then dried hairtail is a choice worth trying because of its diverse preparation methods and long storage life. Besides hairtail, if you are a fan of dried seafood, don’t miss our premium whole dried squid products, perfect for family treats or gifts.

We hope the suggestions above have helped you find a complete answer to the question “what to cook with hairtail fish” and easily choose the right dish for your family meal. With its characteristic flavor, ease of preparation, and high nutrition, hairtail is always a great choice in the Vietnamese kitchen. Refer to more attractive cooking recipes at the Ola Squid Food Blog!