Caramelized and Braised Catfish – Eat Best Food in An Giang

The Vietnamese rice tray is usually full of three dishes: braised, soup, and fried. There are many types of braised dishes that Vietnamese often cook in meals such as braised fish, braised meat, braised bamboo shoots... Traveling to Chau Doc, you will enjoy caramelized and braised catfish in an earthen pot, promising to bring you great food with a great taste for travelers.

By Thomas Vietnam at vemekong.com | All Best Foods & Restaurants in Chau Doc

1. Better to Know as a Food Lover

Find them: Chau doc City

Best time: Dusk-Dawn

Don’t miss: Caramelized and braised catfish

Local’s pick: Restaurant in Chau doc

Tourist’s pick: Chau Doc Night Market, Chau Doc market, Bay Bong 2 restaurant…

Blog: /caramelized-and-braised-catfish-chau-doc-food/

Facts: It is called caramelized and braised catfish because the main ingredient is river catfish stocked in a typical earthenware pot of the Mekong Delta people.

2. Better to Know caramelized and braised catfish

Nutritional value of braised catfish

Catfish has a lot of good lean protein that can support weight loss, is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help treat neurological conditions such as poor memory, and especially in catfish there is a fairly large source of vitamin B12. This helps prevent heart-related diseases, treat anemia. Therefore, catfish is also suitable for different ways of processing such as cooking soup, baking or simply brazing.

3. Caramelized and braised catfish in An Giang

The soft and sweet taste of fish meat, the salty taste of the fish sauce and the spicy taste of chili have created the typical flavor of this dish. Nowadays, life is renewed, so clay pots are no longer used much, so people gradually store fish with metal pots, rice cookers... But for Southern people in particular and those who have eaten this fish dish, they are all granted, the braised catfish in the bowl still has a more distinctive and delicious taste.

4. How to Make caramelized and braised catfish

Ingredients for braised catfish

1 catfish

Green onions, garlic

Spices needed: fish sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, seasoning…

Step 1:

When you buy catfish, you will wash it, note that use salt to rub the fish body vigorously to release all the slime that sticks to the fish, then rinse with water again and then you cut each small piece so that you can eat it. Okay.

Garlic is cut and peeled, I only use about 2 small cloves of garlic and minced finely, scallions also just need to be washed and cut into 3-4cm pieces, remember to keep the onion head to store fish!

Step 2:

After preparing the fish, you bring the fish to marinate with 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of colored water (here you can also use a little black soy sauce), 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoons seasoning, if you have a slightly pungent taste, you can add a little pepper to taste! When all the above spices have been added, stir the fish well so that the spices are evenly absorbed and let the fish marinate for 15-20 minutes!

Step 3:

You prepare a little deep pan, add oil and garlic to high heat, then fry the garlic until fragrant, then add the marinated catfish to the island.

Then you add 1 cup of water and turn down the heat to low so that the fish can absorb the spices. Because a little water has just been added, at this step you will taste the seasoning again with sugar, fish sauce and pepper.

Next is to wait until the fish is cooked and the broth dries up, then turn off the stove, you should note that do not let the fish run out of water, just a little water is okay, then you will add the onion and onion. Leave it in, you can sprinkle a little more pepper to make the dish fragrant!

Step 4: Finished product

So we have finished the delicious braised catfish dish! This dish when served with hot white rice is absolutely delicious, when eaten, the fish meat will melt in your mouth mixed with carefully marinated spices that will make you stand still!

5. Pro tips:

Here are our tips for easing your mind (and stomach) around food-handling environments that you may not be used to.

Make sure the food is freshly cooked. If you're eating hot street food, it's always safest (not to mention more delicious) to eat food you can see being cooked to order.

Look for lines and busy stalls. Busy street food stalls are an indicator of popularity, and their high turnover rate means the food is never sitting out for hours and developing dreaded bacteria. Yes, long lines can be discouraging when you’re hungry after a full day of exploring, but it’s not worth the risk of grabbing precooked food from the empty spot next door.

Eat when the locals are eating. The last and most important element here is when to eat. You’re likely already on a weird eating schedule while you’re traveling, but it’s important to try and adjust to the eating times of where you are. A bowl of pho might be lunch for Americans, but it’s breakfast for the Vietnamese. This ensures that you’re eating freshly cooked food and that you can find the best and most popular places to eat.

If you can’t drink the water, then you can’t eat the salad. Most people get so hung up on not drinking the water or skipping ice in drinks that they don’t think about all of the other ways in which water is used in food service. Fruits and vegetables tend to be washed with tap water in most places, rather than the filtered water that locals drink—or sometimes it’s not washed at all. If you’re really craving some produce, try fruits you can peel or cooked veggies.

Trust your gut. If you’re unsure about the food or the way that it’s being prepared, then keep moving. Eating street food all over the world doesn’t make you an expert. Every stall and every country are different, and sometimes the rules can be harder to follow. When something doesn’t look, smell, or feel right, don’t eat it! Trust your judgment. Chances are that there’s another spot close by that’s making something more delicious.

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Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Chau Doc: Chau Doc Fish Noodle Soup, Sugar Palm Fruit, Basa Fish Hot Pot, Mam (Fermented fish), Phu Huong Beef Noodle Soup, Broken Rice with Pork Chop, Long Xuyen Broken Rice, Nui Cam Pancake, O Thum’s Chicken Grilled with Lime Leaves, Stir-fried Shrimp with Sesbania Flower, Sweet & Sour Soup with Siamese Mud Carp Soup & Sesbania Flower, Caramelized & Braised Catfish, Grilled Rice-field Rat with Salt and Chili…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Soc Trang: Pia Cake, Cong Cake (Banh Cong), Bun Nuoc Leo Soc Trang’s Noodle Soup, Soc Trang’s Bun Goi Da Soup, Duck Noodle Soup with black Pepper, Curry Noodle Soup, Grilled Beef on Tile, Khmer-style Tube Cake, Khmer-style Mung Bean Cake (Banh In), Dried Radish (Xa Bau), Stir-Fried Noodles with Seafood (Mi Sua), Soc Trang’s Green Rice Flakes…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Ben Tre: Phu Le Rice Wine, Ben Tre’s Coconut Candy, Flat Banana, Coconut Rice, Snail Pancake, Sea Snail with Coconut Milk, Coconut Worm, Young Coconut Salad with Shrimp & Pork, Son Doc Puff Rice Paper…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Cai Be: Puffed Rice Cake…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Vinh Long: Elephant Ear Fish (fried giant gourami)…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in My Tho: Fried Sticky Rice, Snakehead Fish Rice Porridge, Hu Tieu My Tho (Noodle Soup), Coconut Banana Cake…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Tra Vinh: Macapuno Coconut, Bun Nuoc Leo Tra Vinh’s Noodle Soup, Tra Cuon’s Sticky Rice Cake…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Sadec: Sa Dec Noodle Soup, Sadec Crab Hotpot, Lai Vung Spring Rolls, Sa Giang Shrimp Puff Pastry, Lai Vung Tangerine…

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Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Ha Tien: Herring Fish Salad, Spider crab cake soup, Ken Noodle soup, Xoi Xiem (Siamese sticky rice), Steamed Noodle soup, Ha Tien Oyster porridge…

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Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Con Dao: Bang nut jam, Vu Nang Snail, Roasted Pork Bread (Banh Mi), Coconut Ice Cream…

Must-Eat Foods & Restaurants in Phu Quoc: Phu Quoc Sim Wine, Phu Quoc Pepper, Phu Quoc fish sauce…

Hopefully, the above tips will help you to come up with a great plan for your adventure in Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Have a safe trip!

“Sleep less, travel more, respect more” – Thomas Vietnam – Local travel expert.

Thank you