Cá kho tộ — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A deeply savory southern Vietnamese dish of catfish steaks braised in a rich caramel sauce with black pepper and fish sauce in a traditional clay pot, yielding tender, intensely flavored fish with a glossy mahogany glaze.

Ingredients

600g catfish steaks, cut 3cm thick
3 tablespoons sugar for caramel
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 shallots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 fresh red chilies, halved
2 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

1 Make caramel by heating sugar in a dry small saucepan over medium heat without stirring until it turns a deep amber color, then carefully add water and stir to dissolve.
2 Season catfish steaks with fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, shallots, and black pepper, and let marinate for fifteen minutes.
3 Heat oil in a clay pot over medium heat, arrange the marinated fish in a single layer, and pour the caramel sauce over the top.
4 Add chilies, cover the clay pot, and braise on low heat for forty minutes, basting the fish occasionally with the thickening sauce.
5 Uncover for the last five minutes to reduce the sauce to a glossy glaze that coats each piece of fish.
6 Garnish with spring onions and serve directly in the clay pot alongside steamed jasmine rice.

Did You Know?

The clay pot is never washed with soap; experienced cooks believe the accumulated seasoning from years of use adds irreplaceable depth to each new batch of ca kho.