Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Cá Kho Tộ) is my taste of home. Nothing reminds me more of traditional Vietnamese home cooking than gently braised catfish in a claypot, served with steamed rice and its sister sweet and sour fish soup (Canh Chua).

This gently braised and caramelized catfish dish was the very first meal tried to cook when I moved out on my own. My very first go was nothing short of appalling. Luckily, after a bit of practice, I can now confidently say I make a mean braised catfish in clay pot dish.

I usually get a whole catfish (with head) at an Asian supermarket. I’d ask the butcher to clean them and cut them into 1-inch steaks. I use most of the steaks for Cá Kho Tộ and the remaining steaks and head for its sister soup Canh Chua.

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Cá Kho Tộ)

Catfish are bottom feeders so they have a very slimy black skin. The best fishmongers are the ones who scrub the skin clean, removing the slime, as well as most of the black skin pigment. What you end up with is a mostly white-colored fish. Some fishmongers don’t do a good job at cleaning the catfish skin. In that case, I usually take them whole and clean the skin myself at home with steel wool, before slicing them up into steaks.

The steak cut holds up well in the braising method because of the intact skin and bone. If you can’t find steak-cut catfish or whole catfish that you can cut into steaks, you can use fillets. Fillets are readily available in American supermarkets. However, fillets tend to break up more easily when braising so be very gentle.

A trick in keeping the catfish firm is marinating it longer. I marinate my catfish with sugar and fish sauce. The sodium in fish sauce does a great job in keeping the catfish intact and prevents it from breaking up when braising. I marinate my catfish for at least one hour or overnight in the fridge for the best results. The longer marinade also provides better flavor.

The marinaded catfish gets tossed in an aromatics of shallots and garlic before gently braising with a bit of water and coconut soda. You can omit the coconut soda if you don’t have it, but I highly recommend it as it provides more authentic flavor.

In the recipe below, instead of using a homemade caramel cooking sauce that most Vietnamese households use, I use a shortcut of thick soy sauce. Just a tiny bit of thick soy sauce provides that beautiful brown color. For a more traditional recipe using the homemade caramel sauce (Nước Màu), click here.

Recipe below. Enjoy!

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Cá Kho Tộ)

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Cá Kho Tộ)

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Ca Kho To)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs catfish (1-inch steaks)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon thick soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 shallot (mince)
• 3 cloves garlic (mince)
• 1/2 cup coconut soda (optional but recommended)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon (pinch) ground black pepper
• 1 green onion (slice thinly)

Instructions

1. Marinate catfish steaks with fish sauce, sugar and thick soy sauce for at least one hour or overnight in the fridge for best results.
2. In a large clay pot, heat vegetable oil on medium high. Add shallot and garlic. Saute until lightly brown.
3. Add marinated catfish steaks (do not made any of the liquid marinade; will add later). Flip catfish on all sides to evenly coat with aromatics. Now add liquid marinade, coconut soda and water. Cover clay pot with a lid. Reduce the heat to a medium-low simmer and braise for 10 minutes
4. Gently flip catfish steaks. When flipping catfish, it's helpful to use a large spoon or spatula to prevent breaking the catfish into a million pieces. No more moving catfish around at this point as it can break apart more easily. Continue to braise catfish on a medium-low simmer, covered, for 10 more minutes.
5. Top with ground black pepper and green onions. Serve with steamed rice, fresh cucumbers, boiled greens and a complementary soup (links below) for a complete meal.

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Clay Pot (Cá Kho Tộ)