Turmeric Catfish with Rice Noodles, Scallion, and Dill

• 2 pounds catfish fillets
• 1/3 cup sour cream, preferably full fat
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon fresh galangal juice (see Note) or 1 1/4 teaspoons dried galangal powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fine shrimp sauce
• 2/3 pound small dried round rice noodles, cooked in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes, drained, and flushed with cold water
• Vegetable Garnish Plate (page 313), preferably with the addition of Vietnamese balm, fish mint, and sorrel
• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1 cup Tangy-Sweet Shrimp Sauce (page 310)
• 2 Toasted Sesame Rice Crackers (page 320)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill, feathery tops only
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup canola or other neutral oil

1. Rinse the catfish fillets and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Cut each fillet into index fingersized pieces about 3 inches long and 3/4 inch thick.
3. (To arrive at pieces that are long enough, you may need to angle the knife so that you cut on the diagonal.)
4. To make the marinade, in a shallow bowl large enough to accommodate the catfish, combine the sour cream, turmeric, galangal juice, and shrimp sauce and mix well.
5. Add the catfish and use a rubber spatula to coat the fish evenly.
6. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.
7. Thirty minutes before broiling, remove the catfish from the refrigerator.
8. To prepare the accompaniments, arrange the noodles on 2 plates in 2-inch mounds for easy serving.
9. Place the noodles, vegetable garnish plate, peanuts, dipping sauce, and rice crackers on the table.
10. Position a rack about 3 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler for 20 minutes to get it nice and hot.
11. Arrange the catfish pieces on an aluminum foillined baking sheet, spreading them out flat like a jigsaw puzzle.
12. Broil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the fish is sizzling and a little brown.
13. Remove from the broiler, make a spout in one corner of the foil, and pour off the accumulated liquid.
14. Use chopsticks or a spatula to flip the fish pieces over.
15. Broil for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until browned on the second side.
16. Transfer to a serving plate.
17. To garnish the fish, blanket it with the dill and scallions.
18. Then, in a small saucepan, heat the oil until faint wisps of smoke start rising.
19. Pour the hot oil over the scallion and dill to wilt them.
20. Use 2 spoons to mix the fish and garnishes and then place on the table.
21. To eat this dish, each diner combines all the various ingredients in a small bowl (such as a rice bowl), tearing the lettuce and herbs into pieces and breaking up the rice cracker.
22. He or she then drizzles a little sauce on top, mixes the contents of the bowl, and eats.
23. To extract galangal juice, first reduce the knobby rhizome to a fine texture by either grating it with a Microplane or Japanese grater, or by thinly slicing it and then pounding the slices in a mortar to a mush.
24. Press the solids through a fine-mesh sieve to obtain the milky liquid.
25. For 1 tablespoon juice, you will need a 1 1/2-inch chunk of galangal.
26. Some people dont care for the taste of Tangy-Sweet Shrimp Sauce, finding it too strongly flavored.
27. Include an alternative of Basic Dipping Sauce (page 308), made without garlic, on the table.

catfish fillets, sour cream, ground turmeric, fresh galangal juice, shrimp sauce, rice noodles, balm, peanuts, shrimp, sesame rice crackers, fresh dill, scallions, canola

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/turmeric-catfish-with-rice-noodles-scallion-and-dill-382942 (may not work)