Vietnamese Caramel Salmon Claypot
Ca kho is the dish that taught me how far a homemade caramel can travel beyond dessert. Sugar cooked to a smoky amber, then loosened with fish sauce and water, becomes a glaze that is at once sweet, salty, and faintly bitter. Salmon stands in beautifully for the traditional catfish, simmering until the sauce clings like lacquer.
Ingredients
- 600g salmon fillet, cut into thick chunks
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 1 thumb of ginger, julienned
- 1 red chile, sliced
- 200ml warm water
- 2 scallions, sliced
- Black pepper, to finish
Method
- Put the sugar and a splash of water in a heavy claypot or saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt and cook, without stirring, to a deep amber caramel.
- Stand back and carefully pour in the warm water; the caramel will hiss and seize, then dissolve. Stir in the fish sauce.
- Add the garlic, shallot, and ginger and simmer for 2 minutes to soften.
- Nestle the salmon chunks into the sauce in a single layer. Spoon the caramel over the top.
- Cover and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, basting once or twice, until the fish is just cooked and the sauce has reduced to a glaze.
- Scatter with chile, scallions, and a heavy grind of black pepper. Serve with plenty of plain rice.