Crispy Fish with Fish Sauce Caramel — Ca Chien Nuoc Mam
Vietnamese pan-fried tilapia fillet shatteringly crisp on the outside and just-flaky inside, glazed with a hot fish sauce caramel of garlic, chilli, and lime that hisses on contact, served over jasmine rice with scallion and cilantro.
Vietnamese
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Pat tilapia dry, score skin in shallow crosshatch. Dust with turmeric, white pepper, salt, and cornstarch; let sit 5 minutes. Mince garlic and shallot, slice chilli and scallion thin. Rinse rice until water runs clear.
Boil
Add rice to a medium pot with 360ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat for 3 minutes, cover, reduce to lowest heat for 12 minutes until grains are fluffy and tender.
Sear
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 90 seconds until shimmering. Lay tilapia skin-side down, cook 4 minutes until skin is shatteringly crisp. Flip, cook 3 minutes until flesh just flakes. Work in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan.
Saute
Remove fish to a plate. Add remaining 2 tbsp oil to the skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add garlic, shallot, and chilli, saute 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant and edges turn pale gold.
Glaze
Stir fish sauce, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water into the skillet over medium heat for 90 seconds until syrupy. Remove from heat, add lime juice, stir 30 seconds until caramel turns glossy and clinging.
Plate
Mound rice on two plates, slide fish alongside each. Spoon hot caramel over crispy skin so it hisses. Scatter scallion and cilantro across, set cucumber spears at the edge, serve lime wedges for squeezing.
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