One of the benefits of living with my parents is that I get to eat so much yummy food, a lot of which I post on this blog. It’s sort of my way of documenting my family recipes. I had this Vietnamese caramelized salmon (Ca Hoi Kho) last week, and I was like wow this is so good it has to go on the blog. So here is the recipe! I love the balance of sweet, salty, and umami flavors, similar to ca kho to. It is also so so simple to make and makes for the perfect weeknight meal.
What does kho mean?
Kho is a method of cooking in Vietnamese cuisine where protein such as beef, chicken, or fish is braised in fish sauce and sugar over low heat. Some popular recipes using this cooking method include thit kho, bo kho, ca kho to, and ga kho. Not only does it make food taste so good, but it’s also an easy way to make a tasty dinner in less than an hour and requires very few ingredients.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Salmon – I used salmon fillets for this recipe, but feel free to use any cut of salmon when you make it.
- Fish sauce – Adds salty and umami flavors to this dish. It also helps add that nice brown color to the salmon.
- Black pepper for seasoning
- Dark brown sugar – The dark brown sugar adds sweetness and is the most responsible for the pretty brown color of the salmon. If you don’t have dark brown sugar, light brown sugar also works. The only difference is your salmon won’t get that rich brown color like in the pictures.
- Neutral oil – Use any kind of light colored cooking oil for this dish. I used extra light olive oil in my recipe. You can also use vegetable oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
- Ginger, shallots and garlic for flavor – All these ingredients add flavor and help tone down the fishy flavor of the salmon.
- Green onions (optional) for garnish
How to make Vietnamese caramelized salmon
First, combine the salmon, fish sauce, and pepper in a bowl. Make sure to coat the salmon with the pepper and fish sauce. Marinate for 15 minutes. For the best flavor, marinate for at least 1 hour. Once done marinating, separate the marinade from the salmon. Set the marinade aside for later. Combine dark brown sugar and oil in a large pan. Heat and stir over medium high heat until the sugar melts and becomes a dark brown color. Next, add the salmon. Sear until brown on both sides (~30 seconds per side). Add the ginger, shallots, and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Lower the heat to low. Add the marinade you reserved, and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Turn the salmon after 5 minutes, so both sides get even caramelization. Lastly, add the green onions. Stir in the green onions and serve!
Vietnamese Caramelized Salmon Video
Tips on how to make the perfect Vietnamese caramelized salmon
Why do you have to separate the salmon from the marinade?
Separating the marinade helps you get the nice sear on the salmon. If you were to add the salmon with the marinade, you won’t be able to get a nice sear.
What do I do if my dish looks a little dry?
After you add the marinade back to the salmon and simmer, you may find that the dish may look like a little dry for you or you may not have enough sauce. If this happens, add a little bit of water.
What do I eat with this salmon dish?
I would recommend white rice. Because there are such intense flavors, you need something more bland to balance it out. I would also recommend fresh veggies as well like raw cucumbers or lettuce.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Vietnamese Caramelized Salmon (Ca Hoi Kho)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ lb salmon cut into 1 inch thick pieces
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- ¼ oz ginger thinly sliced
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp green onions optional, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Combine the salmon, fish sauce, and pepper in a bowl. Coat the salmon with the pepper and fish sauce. Marinate for 15 minutes. For the best flavor, marinate for at least an hour.
- Once done marinating, separate the marinade from the salmon. Set the marinade aside for later.
- Combine dark brown sugar and oil in a large pan. Heat and stir over medium high heat until the sugar melts and becomes a dark brown color.
- Add the salmon. Sear until brown on both sides (~30 seconds per side).
- Add the ginger, shallots, and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Lower the heat to low. Add the marinade you reserved from step 2. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Flip the salmon after 5 minutes so both sides get even caramelization.
- Add the green onions. Stir in the green onions and serve!
Video
Notes
- Why do you have to separate the salmon from the marinade? – Separating the marinade helps you get the nice sear on the salmon. If you were to add the salmon with the marinade, you won’t be able to get a nice sear.
- What do I do if my dish looks a little dry? – After you add the marinade back to the salmon and simmer, you may find that the dish may look like a little dry for you or you may not have enough sauce. If this happens, add a little bit of water.
- What do I eat with this salmon dish? – I would recommend white rice. Because there are such intense flavors, you need something more bland to balance it out. I would also recommend fresh veggies as well like raw cucumbers or lettuce.
This recipe is disgusting. It came out horribly.
Hi Jammy. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you! Let me know if you need help for future recipes.
I’m sorry I have to say something. Not every recipe will fit your tastebuds but to say it’s disgusting is just plain rude to the author and to the culture. This recipe remind people like me of home! My mom used to make this for me. I am thankful to the author for sharing her beloved recipe. Keep up your good work!
Thank you for saying that. I agree. I don’t think all my recipes are for everyone, but you can say how it doesn’t work for you in nicer terms. I’m even okay with 1 star ratings. It however does hurt when you call my recipe “disgusting”. So I really appreciate you saying that. 🙂
Great recipe! FUCK Lynn and Jammy
LOL thank you so much!
Jammy, your palate is probably just like your personality: bland.
I wished I read the comment above. Greatly disappointed. Agree, disgusting.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. Thanks for trying the recipe.
I also read the above comments and have to say that I wholeheartedly disagree. This recipe was fantastic, easy to follow and brought forth such wonderful flavors! Coming from someone who never learned how to make a proper cá kho before, this was a fantastic recipe to help me get back to my roots. Thanks a bunch Becca!!
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for saying that! So excited you enjoyed it!
I (and the adults at the table) really enjoyed this! Flavor profile was perfect with the balance of sweet savory, might consider a little heat for perfection!
Amazing! So excited you enjoyed it 🙂 Ooohhh a little heat sounds like a great addition!
Deliciously salty and sweet! Thought I might miss the fatty taste of catfish but I didn’t.
Yay! Super excited to hear that!
Yummy. I used skin on filets and added cocorico soda for more sauce.
Good job!
Yum! I love cocorico soda! Thank you for making the recipe!
hello
I have been searching for this recipe ever since I had the dish in Nyc china town three years ago. this is the closest I came to that spectacular recipe! thank you!!!! my friends and family were impressed!!!!!
Yay! Thank you so much for trying the recipe! I’m so excited you liked it!
Great dish— have tried other recipes for caramelized fish but this worked much better than those that have you make a caramel sauce. Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish! It’s a favorite in my house too!
Great recipe! I was looking for something quick to use for a spring roll type dish and this marinated salmon was perfect. Very simple to follow yet so much flavor!
Hi Sandy. I’m so excited you liked this recipe! One of my favorites!!
This was sooo so good and easy to make. I will definitely be making it again and experimenting with this cooking method for salmon! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Hi Liz. Thank you so much for making it! Let me know how your experiments turn out! 🙂
While I enjoyed this dish, my wife and our guests really enjoyed it.
After reading comments, I decided to reduce the amount of fish sauce a little (I appreciate that fish sauce can be overpowering) and add oyster sauce (because I love the flavour it gives).
I can only imagine that the nasty comments were these people over doing the fish sauce as there is nothing else that could ruin the flavour.
P.S I over did the brown sugar a little with using heaped spoons measures, should have been levelish.
Hi Rob. Thanks for trying the recipe! I’m glad everyone enjoyed it! I agree that fish sauce can be overpowering. Love the adjustment of reducing the amount!
Thank you for this recipe! Looking forward to sharing it for a going-away cookbook.
Everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe
So excited to hear that! Thank you for trying the recipe!