🇻🇳 Vietnamese

Catfish Caramelised

Name: Catfish Caramelised
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 42 min
Total time: 57 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: to taste Salt; 2, halved and sliced Garlic; 2 Bay Leaf; 1 tsp White Pepper; 3 tbsp Sugar; 3 tbsp Fish Sauce; 4 cloves, crushed Shallots; 500 ml Stock or Broth; 2 tbsp Neutral Oil; 500 g fillets Catfish; 300 ml Coconut Water

🇻🇳 Vietnamese

Vietnamese kho — catfish lacquered in dark caramel and fish sauce until sticky-glossy. 57 minutes of mostly hands-off cooking.

Prep 15 min Cook 42 min Serves 4 Hard

Ingredients

Saltto taste
Garlic2, halved and sliced
Bay Leaf2
White Pepper1 tsp
Sugar3 tbsp
Fish Sauce3 tbsp
Shallots4 cloves, crushed
Stock or Broth500 ml
Neutral Oil2 tbsp
Catfish500 g fillets
Coconut Water300 ml

Optional extras

Mint Leaveshandful, to finish

Instructions

1
Brown the catfish deeply in the Neutral Oil in a heavy pot — patience here pays off later.
2
Remove it, then let the garlic and shallots soften in the drippings with the white pepper.
3
Return the catfish, add the stock and bay leaves, and bring to the gentlest simmer.
4
Cover and braise low and slow until the catfish yields to a spoon, about 45 minutes.
5
Skim the fat, reduce the sauce to a glaze, and serve with something starchy to catch every drop.

Chef's tip

Skim the fat from the surface before the final reduction for a cleaner sauce.

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Watch how it's made

Video: Vietnamese CARAMELIZED CATFISH—You’ve Never Tasted Fish Like This! · on YouTube