Caramel Coated Catfish

This was a different fish dish for Fridays. I looked up more recipes and this is a Vietnamese specialty. There are many versions. This was very tasty – sweet, salty and a bit sour and spicy. Mmmm!

I also researched making caramel. The original recipe called for cooking equal amounts of water and sugar until golden brown. All that happened was it took forever for the water to boil away and I was left with hard lumpy sugar in the pan. Just start with melting the sugar to a golden brown.

Be sure to have all ingredients ready. When the sugar gets to the right point, you will need to act quickly.

Serves 4 - 6

1/3 cup water

2 Tbsp fish sauce

¼ tsp granulated onion

2 Tbsp chopped garlic

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/3 cup sugar

1 lb. catfish nuggets, trimmed to large chunks

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp lime juice

Dash Sriracha sauce to taste

Mix 1/3 cup of water with the fish sauce, granulated onion, garlic, and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1/3 cup of sugar in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar turns deep golden brown.

Gently stir in the fish sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

Add the catfish. Cover, and cook the catfish stirring occasionally, until the fish flakes easily with a fork - about 5 minutes.

Scoop the catfish to a plate, cover, and set aside. Increase heat to high and stir in another teaspoon of sugar and the lime juice. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce has reduced.

Return catfish to the pan and toss to coat with sauce.

Serve over rice or noodles. I served this over stir fried rice noodles and vegetables.

Adapted from: http://www.thanghung.com/special-recipes/ 

Mango Chicken Curry

This was sooo good! I really wanted seconds. I took left-overs to work for lunch the next day.

Serves 4 - 6

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 orange bell pepper, diced

2 Tbsp chopped garlic

1 Tbsp candied ginger, diced

2 Tbsp yellow curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk

1 ripe mango, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Sriracha sauce to taste

Heat large stainless skillet until hot and dry. Remove from heat and lightly coat with canola oil spray. Return to very low heat while preparing chicken and vegetables.

Turn heat to high and add sesame oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and sauté while stirring, until it starts to brown. Turn heat down to medium and add onion, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, curry and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens.

Add coconut milk, mango and lime juice, stirring to pick up all the browned bits. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Add salt, pepper and Sriracha to taste. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.  

Serve over a very good rice like jasmine or basmati.

Adapted from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com