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/