CÁ KHO (Caramelized Catfish Steaks with Pineapple Slices)

Recipe by Hollie Phuong-Hong Nguyen, Facebook

FOOL PROOF RECIPE: Bought a whole fish, used the head and tail for the soup and the rest caramelized with pineapple slices. I love pineapple in my fish. Who else makes Cá Kho with pineapple?

RECIPE FOR CÁ KHO:

Here is my simple recipe for making foolproof cá kho. I say foolproof because if you follow this recipe, you pretty much do not have to worry about guessing how much sugar and how much fish sauce to season in order to get that perfect balance flavor. I think that's the part that could be intimidating for some people who have never made this classic braised dish before. However, once you got the technique down, it's actually not that bad. It just takes some trials to get the hang of it. Your technique will get better the more you make it, and before you know it, you may perfect the dish without even realizing it.

Making the simple sauce for seasoning:

• 1 bottle of fish sauce (Squid Brand)
• 3 cups sugar

In a saucepan on medium heat, combine the sugar with the fish sauce and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

When the mixture just comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Skim off the foam if any.

When the sauce is cool, the consistency should be slightly thicken but not too thick.

*Note: This sauce is all you need, besides nước màu, to season your fish. You can store the left over in a glass jar at room temperature or in the fridge and use it later. It lasts for a long time. This sauce can also be used to make many other braised dishes such as Sườn Rim Mặn, Gà Xào Xả Ớt, Gà Xào Gừng, or anything that is similar in technique. Very convenient, right?

Ingredients to make cá kho thơm: 

• 1 whole catfish, cleaned and cut into steaks about 3/4" thick. Save the head and head portions and the tail for soup if prefer.
• 2-3 Tbsp of oil 
• About 2 tsp minced garlic
• About 2 tsp minced scallions
• The above seasoning sauce (amount varies depends on the amount of fish)
• Homemade or store bought nước màu (thick caramel)
• 1/4 fresh pineapple, cut in half lengthwise and sliced to about 1/4" thick
• Ground black pepper

In a large skillet that can fit all your catfish steaks in a single layer for even braising, heat the oil and fry the minced garlic until fragrant.

Add the minced scallions. Mix well with the garlic.

Add the catfish steaks in a single layer. Keep the heat on medium to low.

Then add the seasoning fish sauce mixture you made. The amount you add will all depend on the amount of fish.

So this is the part that you will need to rely on your judgement. For my batch you see in the picture i.e. about 6 large steaks (about 3 lbs), I added about 6 Tbsp of the sauce.

Let the fish simmer on low heat to absorb the sauce for 2-3 minutes.

Then add a few tsp of nước màu. This depends on your visual judgement. Add a little at a time until you see that the color is right. Remember, as the fish simmered and the sauce is reduced, the caramel color will be deepened, so do not add too much or your fish color will be too dark.

Continue to simmer on low heat to caramelization as you can see from my video.

Flip the fish over once if needed for even braising. You can see that the fish has released some juice.

If your seasoning is the right amount (taste it), you can just let the fish juice combined with the seasoning sauce continue to simmer to the right caramelization consistency.

Add your pineapple and simmer to let the pineapple soak in the sauce, and then turn off the heat and it's done.

However, if your seasoning is off (i.e. too much or not enough) by tasting it, then you'll need to either add a little bit of water (if too much seasoning sauce) to lighten the taste or add a little more seasoning sauce (if not enough) to increase the flavor. Use your taste bud as your guide at this point.

Then continue to let it simmer to caramelization. Add the pineapple and let it soak in the sauce. Sprinkle with some ground black pepper. It's done.

*Note: I highly recommend using homemade nước màu if you can make it. This is really the secret that will give your fish the golden brown color that it is. It tastes better, too. I found that store-bought does not produce that golden brown caramel color but rather a dark brown, looks less appealing. The taste definitely can't compared to homemade. I will try to make a video of making homemade nước màu later for those of you who are interested. It is a good and essential staple in your pantry for making those classic Viet braised dishes.