Fish Rice Noodle Soup / Bun Ca
This recipe for Fish Rice Noodle Soup (Bun Ca) is belly-warming good and perfect for the colder months ahead. Hearty chunks of marinated fish and zesty tomatoes are cooked in a light stock and then ladled over rice noodle to make a deliciously flavorful and healthy noodle soup. Fish Rice Noodle Soup is a classic Vietnamese noodle soup. It's quick and easy to make and a recipe you can easily adapt to your available ingredients. Give it a try and share your results with me!
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 inch knob ginger
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 lb fish fillets: (ono, salmon, tilapia)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 small white onion
- 2 green onions
- 1/2 bunch cilantro (, washed and trimmed)
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 8 cups fish or chicken stock
- 1 1/2 lbs cooked rice noodle / rice vermicelli
- red chilies (, chopped)
- fish sauce
- herbs: spearmint, spicy mint & Thai basil (, washed and plucked)
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts (, washed and trimmed)
- 2 cups green leaf lettuce (, chopped)
- 2 limes (, cut into wedges)
Instructions
- 1
Remove the skin from the ginger and mince. Smash the garlic cloves, remove the skin and also mince.
- 2
Gently rinse the fish fillets under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish into large chunks.
- 3
In a medium bowl, add half of the minced ginger and garlic. Add the sugar, ground black pepper, paprika powder and fish sauce. Combine the marinade ingredients together. Add the fish pieces and coat with the marinade. Let marinate while continuing with the next steps.
- 4
Thinly slice 1/4 of the white onion. Set aside in a small bowl. (This will be used to garnish the soup in the final step.) Cut the remaining 3/4 onion into thin wedges and transfer into a small bowl.
- 5
Cut off a 4 inch section of the green onion root. Cut these sections in half. Transfer the green onion root into the bowl with the onion wedges. Set aside for now. (This will be added to season the soup.)
- 6
Chop the remaining green onion stems and transfer into a small bowl. Coarsely chop the cilantro and add into the same bowl. Toss the green onion stems and cilantro mix together. Set aside for now. (This will be used to garnish the soup in the final step.)
- 7
Cut each tomato into 8 wedges.
- 8
Heat a medium-sized wok over Medium High heat. When hot, add the vegetable oil, the remaining minced ginger and garlic, and the tomato paste. Stir-fry for 10-15 seconds. Add the marinated fish and cook for 2-3 minutes. Rotate the fish so it browns evenly. Add the tomatoes and gently toss together. Cook until the tomatoes just start to soften, about 2 minutes.
- 9
In a large saucepan, add the fish or chicken stock. Add the onion wedges and green onion root. Cover the saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add the fish and tomatoes. Gently combine together and bring to a boil again over Medium heat. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until the fish is completely cooked. Season the soup to taste with more fish sauce.
- 10
To serve, add a generous amount of cooked rice noodle into a large soup bowl. Ladle generous amounts of the fish, tomatoes, onions and stock into the bowl. Garnish the soup with the thin onion slices and a heaping spoonful of the chopped green onion and cilantro mix.
- 11
Enjoy the Fish Rice Noodle Soup with sides of chopped red chilies in fish sauce, fresh spearmint, spicy mint, Thai basil, bean sprouts, chopped green leaf lettuce and lime wedges.
- 12
Store any remaining portions in the refrigerator and enjoy with 2-3 days.