I love seafood. Whenever we go out, I always order seafood, but I don’t always make seafood at home. Not sure why…probably because my husband does not eat any seafood, except canned tuna. Don’t ask me why. I’m also puzzled about this 😂. I’m weird about where I purchase seafood. It has to be fresh, otherwise it can smell fishy. Who wants to eat fish that smells fishy. So when I saw the fresh catfish on sale, I grabbed some and rushed home to make cá kho tộ (caramelized catfish).
What is cá kho tộ (caramelized catfish)?
Cá kho tộ (caramelized catfish) is traditionally made using cá lóc (snakeheaded fish) simmered in sugar and coconut water rendered down until the sauce caramelizes. This dish originated in South Vietnam because South Vietnam is near the Mekong Delta, where fish is abundant.
Traditionally caramelized catfish is cooked in clay pots and uses Vietnamese caramel sauce. This sauce gives the fish a dark color. We call this caramel sauce nước màu in Vietnamese. Now this is not the normal caramel sauce that you’re thinking of…the one that you put on ice cream, even though it has the viscosity of ice cream caramel.
Why, you may ask? It’s because the Vietnamese caramel sauce has a bitter but slightly sweet taste to it. Too bitter for an ice cream topping. Of course you can make this sauce at home by mixing sugar and water, but it does require some time to get it just right. So in the mean time, you can purchase a bottle at the Asian store or here.
The first time I made it, I didn’t have any Vietnamese caramel sauce on hand, so I decided to improvise and used hoisin sauce instead. Why hoisin sauce? Because hoisin sauce has that sweetness to it, plus it was already in the pantry😂. The only thing that the hoisin sauce did not do as well was add color to the fish.
So whether or not you decide to use Vietnamese caramel sauce in the fish or hoisin sauce, I can honestly say, either way it will taste great. The picture below is what the dish will look like when hoisin sauce is used.
How to prepare fish for cooking?
When I first made this dish, I offered it to my friend and her response was “I’m weird about fish. If it’s too fishy, I’m out.” I get what she is saying. In my experience cooking fish, there are a couple things to keep in mind.
- Always buy fresh fish. Fresh fish does not smell “fishy” whereas, old fish will smell “fishy”.
- Always wash the fish by sprinkling a generous amount of salt on it. Gently rub then wash the salt off with warm water, and pat dry using a paper towel. This will help the fish taste fresh and remove any “fishy” smell.
What to serve with caramelized catfish?
Whenever I make the caramelized catfish, I always serve it with a side of Jasmine rice. I can’t imagine anything better than rice to soak up all the caramelized sauce. Although, when I made this, my mom decided to wrap it in a tortilla and make a “fish taco”. She said it tasted great…so that’s another option.
Cá Kho Tộ (Caramelized Catfish)
Ingredients
- 1 pound catfish filet or steaks
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- ½ cup Coco Rico coconut soda or coconut water
- ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- ¼ tsp sugar Add an additional 1¼ tsp of sugar if using Vietnamese caramel sauce instead of hoisin sauce.
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce or Vietnamese caramel sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the catfish filets. Gently rub the salt into the filets then rinse the salt off using warm water. Pat the filets dry with paper towels and set it aside.
- Gather the fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, chopped garlic, sugar, vegetable oil, salt, pepper and hoisin (or Vietnamese caramelized sauce) and mix them together in a bowl. Give the marinade a taste and adjust accordingly if needed.
- Place the catfish filets in the marinade and let them marinade for 20 minutes.
- After the 20 minutes, place the filets in a hot pan on medium heat. Let each side cook for 4 minutes then add in the coconut soda or coconut water.
- Let the coconut soda/water come to a boil and the liquid will reduce.
- Serve the caramelized filets with chopped green onions, a side of Jasmine rice and sprinkle with red hot chili flakes.
So when you get tired of eating meat, go get some fresh fish and give this recipe a try. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the button below.
