Ca kho - Caramelized Fish

By Helen Le Published: May 26, 2012

  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 50 mins
  • Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins

  • Yield: 4 Servings

A very popular dish to serve with hot steamed rice. It goes perfect with sweet and sour fish soup (Canh Chua Ca). A claypot is normally used as it can maintain the heat until served on the table.

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Ingredients
Instructions
  • Pat the fish dry and place in a saucepan or a claypot.
  • In a separate small pan on medium heat, add the vegetable oil and sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar over the base. Gently swirl the pan, do not stir. When the sugar is melted and turns into caramel liquid, add minced garlic and 1 tbsp minced shallot and fry until fragrant. Quickly pour this mixture over the fish.
  • In a bowl, dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in 4 tbsp fish sauce. Also pour this sauce over the fish. Add pepper. Let the fish marinate for at least 30 minutes (preferably 1-2 hours).
  • Over high heat, bring the marinated fish to a boil. If the fish produce too little liquid, you can add 1/2 cup coconut juice or hot water. Occasionally swirl the saucepan to coat the fish evenly with the caramel sauce. Add ginger strips and hot pepper if you like spicy, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 mins.
  • Gently turn the fish over and continue to simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes until the sauce thickens, the fish becomes firm and has nice caramel color.
  • Garnish with chopped spring onion and freshly cracked pepper.
  • Served with hot steamed rice.

Currently, you can order Helen’s cookbook on amazon or you can order items that Helen often uses in the kitchen.