Easy Danang Fish Noodle Soup Recipe (Bun Cha Ca Da Nang) – Everyone Loves It

Bun cha ca (fish cake noodle soup) is a signature dish of Central Vietnam, particularly famous in Da Nang. A steaming hot bowl of noodles with clear broth, the delicate sweetness of the fish, chewy and fragrant fish cakes, combined with fresh raw vegetables, makes anyone who tries it remember it forever. If you are wondering how to cook fish cake noodle soup Da Nang style to get the authentic flavor simply at home, do not miss the detailed recipe in this article by Ola Squid!

1. Ingredients needed to cook fish cake noodle soup

To cook a delicious and authentic Da Nang fish cake noodle soup, you need to prepare the following ingredients:

• 1 Basa fish
• 500g fried fish cake, 500g steamed fish cake
• 200g cabbage, 500g pumpkin
• 1 pineapple, 3 tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• A few side vegetables such as perilla, basil, aromatic herbs, cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons sugar

2. How to choose fresh ingredients

For the Da Nang fish cake noodle soup to achieve its full flavor, choosing fresh ingredients is extremely important. Below are some important notes when buying ingredients:

• With Basa fish, you should prioritize live fish that swim strongly, with firm bodies, clear eyes, bright red gills, and no strange odors. If buying pre-processed fish, choose white meat with small fibers that have good elasticity when pressed.
• Delicious pumpkins usually have a flat round shape, dark brown slightly rough skin, feel heavy in the hand, and have fresh stems. Avoid buying light, soft fruits or those with strange odors as they are prone to spoilage inside.
• Besides that, when choosing tomatoes, you should pick those that are evenly red, plump, with thin skin and fresh green stems. Fresh tomatoes will be firm to the touch, have a light fragrance, and are not mushy or discolored.
• For cabbage, choose heads that are evenly round, tightly wrapped, bright green, and feel firm. You should not buy cabbage with bruised leaves, yellowing, or black spots as it is prone to rot, affecting the quality of the dish.

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3. How to cook Da Nang fish cake noodle soup

• Step 1 – Prepare ingredients: Peel the pumpkin, wash it, and cut it into bite-sized square pieces. Separate the cabbage leaves, wash and cut them into sections, and wash the tomatoes, cutting them into wedges. Peel the pineapple, remove the “eyes”, and cut into small pieces to create a natural sweet and sour flavor for the broth.
• Step 2 – Sauté tomatoes: Heat a pot with a little cooking oil, add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Next, add the tomatoes and sauté gently until soft, releasing a beautiful color and aroma.
• Step 3 – Cook the broth: Add filtered water to the sautéed tomato pot, bring to a boil, then add the pumpkin and cabbage one by one to cook together. After that, season with 4 tablespoons of fish sauce and salt to taste, and lower the heat to let the vegetables cook slowly. When the water boils again, add the pineapple so the broth has a delicate sweet flavor that is easy to eat.
• Step 4 – Prepare and deodorize the Basa fish: Wash the Basa fish with salt and a little lemon or vinegar to remove the fishy smell, then rinse with clean water, let it drain, and cut into chunks.
• Step 5 – Braise the fish: Put the fish in a pot and add sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, pepper, garlic powder, and a little water. Braise the fish over medium heat until evenly seasoned, the sauce thickens slightly, and it gives off a characteristic aroma.
• Step 6 – Finish the dish: When the vegetables in the broth pot are soft-cooked, add the steamed fish cake and fried fish cake, bring to a gentle boil again, and re-season to taste before turning off the heat.
• Step 7 – Presentation and enjoyment: Finally, put the fresh noodles into a bowl, arrange the Basa fish, fish cakes, pumpkin, cabbage, and pineapple on top. Ladle the hot broth over, add a little braised fish sauce and side vegetables, and you can enjoy it immediately. A complete bowl of Da Nang fish cake noodle soup has an attractive aroma, a delicately sweet broth, and fatty, tender fish harmonized with chewy and delicious fish cakes, making it unforgettable after just one bite.

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4. Similar delicious dishes

Besides Da Nang fish cake noodle soup, Southern and Nha Trang style fish cake noodle soups also have unforgettable characteristic flavors and are loved by many. Below is the detailed way to make Nha Trang fish cake noodle soup and Southern style that you can refer to:

4.1 Nha Trang fish cake noodle soup

Ingredients to prepare:

• 200g Nha Trang fish cake
• 300g mackerel
• 1/4 pineapple, 1/2 cabbage
• 1 ginger, 2 tomatoes
• 3 shallots and 3 garlic cloves
• 3 stalks of green onion, noodles
• Bean sprouts, lettuce, herbs

The way to make Nha Trang fish cake noodle soup is as follows:

• Step 1: Clean the mackerel, fillet the meat, and cut into bite-sized pieces. To prevent the fish from being fishy, you can quickly soak it in diluted salt water mixed with ginger and lemon or wash it with rice water, then rinse well and let it drain.
• Step 2: Wash cabbage and lettuce, and cut them small. Peel the pineapple, remove eyes, cut into pieces, and wedge the tomatoes. Julienne the ginger, mince shallots and garlic, and chop the green onions. Wash herbs and bean sprouts, then let them drain. Deep-fry the fish cake briefly to heat it up, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Step 3: Put the mackerel in a bowl, season with pepper, seasoning powder, MSG, fish sauce, add julienned ginger and white wine. Mix well and marinate for about 10 minutes for the fish to absorb the spices, helping the meat be fragrant and richer.
• Step 4: Next, place the marinated fish in a steamer, steam for about 20 minutes until the fish is cooked and tender, then turn off the heat, keeping it as is to prevent the fish from drying out.
• Step 5: Then sauté shallots and garlic with cooking oil until fragrant, add tomatoes to sauté quickly until soft and color is beautiful, creating a flavor base for the broth.
• Step 6: Blanch fish bones briefly with boiling water, then wash clean. Add bones to a pot with new water, simmer for about 40 minutes to get the natural sweetness. After that, remove the bones, add the sautéed tomatoes, pineapple, and a little chili powder to the pot, season with salt to taste, and boil gently to complete the broth.
• Step 7: Put noodles into a bowl, arrange steamed mackerel, fish cake, and green onions on top, then ladle the hot broth accompanied by tomatoes and pineapple. When eating, you should serve with raw vegetables and add fish sauce according to taste.

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4.2 Southern style fish cake noodle soup

Ingredients needed:

• 500g featherback fish (or fresh mackerel, basa fish)
• 500g pork bone (or fish bone, fish head)
• 300g snakehead fish or climbing perch
• 2-3 stalks of green onion, 3 tomatoes
• 100g ground pork, 1kg fresh noodles
• 1 small bunch of dill, ½ pineapple
• 2-3 shallots, 1 onion
• 1 ginger
• Types of raw vegetables such as lettuce, shredded banana blossom, shredded water spinach, bean sprouts, herbs
• Cilantro, chili, lemon
• Cooking oil, sugar, seasoning powder, salt, fish sauce, ground pepper

Way to make Southern style fish cake noodle soup:

• Step 1: Blanch pork bones or fish bones briefly with boiling water and ginger to remove odors. Clean the bought climbing perch or snakehead fish and soak in diluted salt water or lemon to reduce fishiness. For the fish used for the cake, scrape off the meat and remove all bones and skin. Wash vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces, and soak raw vegetables in diluted salt water, then let drain.
• Step 2: Put bones in a pot with cold water, add onion and ginger, and simmer over low heat so the water is clear and sweet. When the bones have released their flavor, add the climbing perch or snakehead fish to cook, remove, and debone the meat. Tomatoes and pineapple are sautéed briefly with fragrant shallots and then added to the pot, seasoned to taste, and simmered over low heat for the flavors to meld.
• Step 3: Next, mix the fish meat with ground pork, green onions, dill, and spices, then knead well until the mixture is chewy and supple. Shape into bite-sized pieces, steam until cooked or fry lightly, then cut into slices.
• Step 4: Finally, blanch fresh noodles, put into a bowl, and arrange fish and fish cakes on top, sprinkling with green onions and cilantro. Ladle hot broth over, serve with raw vegetables, chili fish sauce, and lemon to enjoy.

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5. Some notes when cooking fish cake noodle soup

To make the fish cake noodle dish even more balanced in flavor, you need to note some of the following things:

• Choose fresh delicious ingredients: Fish cake should be made from fresh fish, with natural fragrance and good elasticity. Fresh fish will help the cake be chewy, sweet, and not mushy when processed, while also limiting the fishy smell in the dish.
• Cook a delicately sweet broth: The broth should be simmered from fish bones or pork bones for long enough to create natural sweetness. During the cooking process, you need to skim the foam regularly so the water is clear and has a beautiful color.
• Season moderately: Spices should be seasoned lightly, prioritizing salt and good fish sauce to retain the full characteristic flavor of the fish cake noodle soup. Avoid seasoning too strongly, which makes the broth harsh and masks the natural sweetness of the ingredients.
• Carefully prepare side vegetables: Raw vegetables need to be washed, soaked in diluted salt water, and let drain. You should combine vegetables such as lettuce, banana blossom, bean sprouts, and herbs to help the dish be more harmonious and easier to eat.
• Prepare noodles: Noodles should be blanched briefly through hot water before use so the noodle strands are soft, clean, and do not stick or have a sour smell.

Hopefully, with the detailed instructions on how to cook fish cake noodle soup above, it has helped you to be able to successfully prepare the delicious, authentic dish for your whole family. If you want to discover more attractive cooking recipes and tips for processing delicious dishes, please visit the Blog of Ola Squid!