Grilled Taʻape with Nuoc Cham
By Kristene “Banchan” Moon from The Pig & The Lady
Serves 2
Ingredients
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 cups water, boiling
2 cups ice
2 whole taʻape
Garlic 3 cloves, minced
Fish Sauce 1/3rd cup
Lime Juice 1/3rd cup (about 4-5 limes)
Sugar 1/3 cup
Thai Chili 1 pc, sliced thin
Water ¼ cup
Directions
In a 1 quart container, combine salt with boiling water, stir to dissolve.
Add ice to the container, until you fill the container. (You need 1 quart total brine.)
Scale the taʻape on both sides and remove the fins.
Cut in from the back down to the belly, do not penetrate the bottom of fish
Cut the head in half, making sure to not cut through the bottom lip of mouth, but do cut through the top lip.
Open the fish up, cut out the spine with scissors, and remove the guts, gills, rib cage and pinions.
Rinse thoroughly, until there is no more visible blood. Place in a large container and pour the iced brine over the top and let sit 20 minutes.
Remove, pat dry, and dry in the refrigerator, skin side up for at least 48 hours.
To make the Pig & The Lady Nuoc Cham sauce, combine the sugar and fish sauce in a small bowl and stir to dissolve.
Add the rest of the ingredients and let sit for about an hour before serving.
Get your grill very hot, then place your ta’ape skin side down.
Don’t flip the fish until it’s 90% cooked through from the skin side, if your skin does happen to get crispy sooner, you may flip earlier.
Flip and finish 1 minute on other side. Remove from grill and serve with nuoc cham.
Recipe edited by Sarah Burchard