Ca nuc kho thom is loved for a braising sauce that is at once tangy and rich, soaking deep into each piece of fish. The hardest part is keeping the fish whole through nearly half an hour in the pot.
The fish is fried for 10 minutes in oil that has just carried garlic, so the flesh firms up and holds together through a long braise. Pineapple and spring onion form one layer on the bottom and another on top, so the sweet sour flavor spreads through the whole pot.
This batch weighs about 1.9kg, at roughly 211 calories per 100g.
Method
Slit the bellies of the fish and remove the guts, rub 1 tablespoon salt inside and out, rinse twice, and drain.
Quarter the pineapple lengthwise, cut out the core, and slice thinly. Cut the spring onion into lengths. Bruise 3 garlic cloves and mince the other 2. Wash the pork belly with salt and cut into even slices.
Set a pan over medium heat with 200ml oil and the 3 bruised garlic cloves, stir for 3 minutes until fragrant, then lift the garlic out.
Fry the fish over medium heat for 10 minutes, then lift out.
Wipe the pan, add 100ml oil and the pork belly, stir for 3 minutes, add the minced garlic and minced shallot, and stir for another 5 minutes.
Layer half the pineapple and spring onion over the pork, then the fish, then the remaining pineapple and spring onion on top.
Add 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 300ml coconut water, 2 teaspoons black pepper and 5 chilies, braise over medium heat for 5 minutes, then lower the heat.
Add 1 tablespoon nuoc mau caramel sauce and braise for another 20 minutes.
Season with 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, raise the heat for 10 minutes, taste again, then turn off the stove.
Tips
Frying the fish for 10 minutes in garlic scented oil firms the flesh so it holds together through a long braise.
Layering pineapple and spring onion below and above carries the sweet sour flavor evenly through the pot.
Thirty grams of pineapple is enough, as more turns the pot sharply sour and softens the flesh.
Keep the heat low through the middle stretch, then raise it for the last 10 minutes to thicken the sauce.
Coconut water stands in for all the plain water, so the pot finishes with a rounded sweetness and needs little else.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.