Chả cá
Chả cá Lã Vọng
Turmeric-dill fish, sizzling at the table, with noodles and peanuts — Hanoi's famous pan.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Chả cá Lã Vọng.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Chả cá is Hanoi restaurant theatre: freshwater fish marinated in turmeric, galangal and shrimp paste, then cooked with a forest of dill and spring onion in a pan that stays on the table. You pile it on rice noodles with peanuts and a sour-sweet dipping sauce. This home version uses a single hot skillet. The dill is not a garnish. It is half the dish. Marinate freshwater fish — snakehead is the Hanoi fish; a firm white fish is the home swap — in turmeric, galangal and a little shrimp paste or fish sauce. Cook it in a hot skillet with a forest of dill and spring onion so the herbs wilt into the oil. Pile onto rice noodles with roasted peanuts and a sour-sweet dipping sauce. The dill is half the dish. A table-stove is theatre if you have one; a single pan is the honest weeknight.
Ingredients
- Firm white fish, firm steaks or fillets500 g
- Turmeric7.4 ml
- Dill1 bunch
- Spring onion1 bunch
- Ginger15 g
- Fish sauce30 ml
- Rice noodles250 g
- Peanuts40 g
- Lime1
- Neutral oil44 ml
- Sugar4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Marinate fish in turmeric, ginger, 1 tbsp fish sauce and a little oil 30 minutes. Soak noodles.
10 minStep 2
Sear fish in a hot pan until just cooked. Pile on dill and spring onion, toss 1 minute until wilted and loud.
10 minStep 3
Noodles, fish, herbs, peanuts. Mix remaining fish sauce with lime, sugar and chilli if you have it, as a dip.
5 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Fresh dill → Nothing, really
Dried dill is a ghost. Buy the bunch.
Tips
- Catfish or snakehead is traditional. Cod or ling is an honest swap.
- More dill than you think. If you are shy, you made a different fish.
History & culture
A Hanoi specialty that became a tourist pilgrimage. Locals still eat it. The table-stove is the point if you have one. A Hanoi specialty that became a tourist pilgrimage without stopping being a local order. The herbs should smell like a garden hitting a wok. Peanuts are crunch, not garnish. Share the pan. It is not a generic turmeric fish and it is not a Thai curry.
Named for a street and a restaurant. Turmeric fish with dill is older than the brand. Named for a street and a restaurant; turmeric fish with dill is older than the brand. Hanoi made the table-cook version famous. You are marinating fish in turmeric and cooking it under dill. That is chả cá. The pilgrimage story is optional. The herbs are not.
Regional variation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Chả cá take?
1 hr 5 min all in — 20 min prep, 15 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 3 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Fish, Peanuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Dairy-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Fish sauce — 2 tbsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much fish sauce?
2 tbsp of Fish sauce.
How much sugar?
1 tsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Fresh dill → Nothing, really. Dried dill is a ghost. Buy the bunch.
Any tips from this recipe?
Catfish or snakehead is traditional. Cod or ling is an honest swap. More dill than you think. If you are shy, you made a different fish.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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