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Lau mam (Mekong fermented fish hotpot)
Lẩu mắm: a pungent Mekong Delta hotpot with pork, seafood and a mountain of greens
In Cần Thơ and Sóc Trăng, lẩu mắm is the hotpot friends gather round at weekends, and it is at its best in the flood season, when wild greens, water lily stems and yellow sesbania flowers fill the markets. The broth starts from mắm, fish fermented with salt and roasted rice, which is simmered and strained, then softened with coconut water, lemongrass and a little sugar. Everyone cooks their own slices of pork belly, fish, prawns and squid at the table and eats them with rice noodles and whatever vegetables are piled beside the pot. Buy mắm cá linh or mắm cá sặc in jars from a Vietnamese grocer. Chef's tip: add the strained mắm gradually and taste as you go, because jars vary a lot in saltiness.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the broth
For cooking at the table
Vegetables and noodles
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 7 oz fermented fish (mắm cá linh or mắm cá sặc) and 1 litre of the 4 ¼ cups water in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, mashing it with a spoon. Open a window: it smells strong.
15 minStep 2: Pour it through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the solids, then discard the bones and pulp. Common mistake: skipping the sieve leaves small fish bones in the hotpot.
Step 3: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot over a medium heat and fry 5 cloves garlic, 4 shallots, the chopped 2 stalks lemongrass and 3 red chillies for 2 minutes until fragrant.
2 minStep 4: Add the strained mắm a ladle at a time, then the rest of 2 cups water, 2 cups coconut water, the bruised 2 stalks lemongrass and 2 tbsp sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then taste and adjust: it should be salty-sweet and bold.
12 minStep 5: Add 2 long Asian aubergines to the broth and simmer for 5 minutes until just soft.
5 minStep 6: Arrange 10 ½ oz pork belly, 14 oz catfish, basa or other white fish fillet, 10 ½ oz raw prawns and 10 ½ oz squid on plates, and 10 ½ oz water spinach (morning glory), 7 oz bean sprouts, 10 ½ oz Chinese leaf, 5 ½ oz okra, 7 oz water lily stems or banana blossom and 1 ⅜ oz Thai basil, rice paddy herb and mint on platters. Keep the raw meat and seafood plates away from the vegetables.
Step 7: Move the pot to a tabletop burner and keep it at a steady simmer. Each person cooks their own: pork slices for 2–3 minutes until no pink remains, fish for 3–4 minutes until opaque and flaking easily, and prawns for 2–3 minutes until pink and opaque.
4 minStep 8: Cook squid for 1–2 minutes only, until it turns white and curls; longer makes it rubbery. Swish greens in for a few seconds each.
2 minStep 9: Serve with 14 oz rice vermicelli and 2 lime, ladling broth, seafood and vegetables over the noodles in each bowl. Top up the pot with hot water if the broth gets too salty as it reduces.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lau mam (Mekong fermented fish hotpot) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
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