Vietnamese Fried Fish Cake Soup (Bún Chả Cá)

What is Bún Chả Cá?

Bún chả cá is a Vietnamese noodle soup topped with fried fish cakes. This version has a light, sweet broth made from salmon head with pineapple, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, cabbage and squash, served over rice vermicelli.

Vietnamese Fried Fish Cake Soup (Bún Chả Cá)

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the broth

• 2.7 lb salmon head cleaned
• 2 shallots whole
• 2 slices ginger
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 medium rock sugar
• 8 cups water
• 8 oz pineapple chunks
• 3 whole fresh bamboo shoots sliced
• 3 tomatoes quartered
• ½ lb cabbage
• ½ lb butternut squash

To season

• 3 tablespoon fish sauce
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ⅓ tablespoon MSG
• 1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning
• 1 tablespoon annatto seed oil optional for color

To serve

• green onions
• cilantro
• thai peppers
• thin vermicelli noodles
• fried fish cakes

Instructions

• Bring a 6 qt pot of water to boil. Parboil your salmon heads once the water boils for 5 minutes. Drain, clean, and set the salmon heads aside.
• Clean the 6 qt pot and refill with clean water ¾ full. Bring it to the stove over medium-high heat and wait for the water to boil.
• Once boiling, add your parboiled salmon heads, 2 shallots, 2 slices of ginger, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 medium rock sugar. Remove any impurities that float to the top and discard. Lower the heat to simmer and simmer for 45 minutes.
• In the meantime, prep all your vegetables. Cut your butternut squash into bite-size cubes. Slice your cabbage into bite size pieces. Slice your bamboo shoots into thin strips. Slice your tomatoes into quarters. Fry your fish cakes if needed in a separate pan until golden and crispy.
• After 45 minutes of simmer, use a mesh strainer to remove the bones, garlic, and shallots from the broth and discard.
• Add bamboo, tomato, and pineapple chunks to the broth. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add your cabbage and butternut squash. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Season the soup with 3 tablespoon fish sauce, ½ tablespoon sugar, ⅓ tablespoon MSG, 1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning, and 1 tablespoon annatto seed oil. Taste and adjust.
• Assemble each noodle bowl with vermicelli noodles, broth, and fish cakes. Garnish with green onions and cilantro.