Vietnamese Braised Fish Recipe (Cá Kho Tộ)

To change our daily meal, we have been attempting to make varieties of dish with fish for our beloved children to make sure they get enough nutrients, including Baked Salmon with Lemon-Butter Sauce, Baked Fish Lemongrass, etc. At this time, we want the kids to try our traditional braised dish by making Vietnamese Braised Fish or Braised Catfish in Claypot (Ca Kho To). Usually, we use catfish to make the dish and also add pork in it. Since the pork will release some of its fat into the sauce during our braising process, our braised dish will be more tasty and delicious. Adding pork is totally optional. We know if the recipe is successful when the kids would ask for more. Since we’re making this for our kids, we don’t add any hot pepper. If you love spicy food, you can add some Thai chili pepper. It will enhance the flavor and taste.
You can make this recipe using a clay pot or cast iron skillet. In Vietnam, this dish is always made in clay pot. Since we don’t know for high certainty the safety of clay pots sold at Asian markets, we opt for cast iron skillet made in the USA. It will also help keep the heat longer and heat evenly which is crucial for this dish.
For other fish recipes, check out our Baked Fish with Lemongrass (Cá Nướng Sả) and Baked Salmon with Lemon-Butter Sauce (Cá Hồi Nướng Sốt Bơ Chanh).
Visit our youtube channel for more cooking videos, https://www.youtube.com/NPFamilyRecipes.
Prep Time | 5 minutes |
Cook Time | 20 minutes |
Passive Time | 15 minutes |
Servings |
servings
|
- 1 lb catfish steak (or fillet)
- 1/2 lb pork
- 3 green onion
- 1 shallot
- 3 tsp fish sauce
- 4 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning (optional)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Ingredients
|
- Cut pork into thin slices. Place into a bowl and marinate with 1 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. fish sauce, 1/4 tsp. ground pepper, and 1/2 amount of minced onion. Mix up. Set aside. In another bowl, marinate the fish with 1 and 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. fish sauce, 1/4 tsp. ground pepper, remaining minced onion, and 1 tsp. mushroom seasoning, if using. Mix well. Marinate for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped green onions. Sprinkle with ground pepper.
If your caramel sauce is burned, you should discard it right away. If not, it will destroy your whole dish. It is good if you make the caramel sauce ahead or you can buy it at any Asian grocery store.
Stir-fried shallot will eliminate the fish smell and also give the dish a wonderful taste.
Main Ingredient Cost Catfish steak $5.19 Pork $1.79 ----------------------------------------------------- $6.98 ̣($1.75/serving)