Photograph of the finished Sweet and Sour Basa Catfish

Vietnam · Cá bông lau chua ngọt

Sweet and Sour Basa Catfish

40 min Hands-on time + 20 min waiting
EasyDifficulty
6 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Catfish Catfish 3.1 lb
  • Photograph of Pineapple Pineapple 1.1 lb
  • Photograph of Tomato Tomato 8
  • Photograph of Rice vinegar Rice vinegar ½ cup
  • Photograph of Sugar Sugar 3.5 oz
  • Photograph of Fish sauce Fish sauce ⅓ cup
  • Photograph of Onion Onion 1.6
  • Photograph of Cornstarch Cornstarch 2.1 oz
  • Photograph of Oil Oil ¾ cup
  • Photograph of Chilli Chilli 8
  • Photograph of Steamed rice Steamed rice 1.8 lb

Method

  1. 1 Toss the catfish with salt and ginger, then rinse and cut into 3 cm thick pieces.
  2. 2 Pan-fry the fish for 3 minutes on each side until the outside is seared, then remove and set aside.
  3. 3 Pan-frying first before braising in the sauce is the way to keep the fish from falling apart; fresh fish will break apart if dropped directly into the sauce.
  4. 4 Sauté the onions with the tomatoes and pineapple for 5 minutes until the mixture is softened.
  5. 5 Mix vinegar, sugar, and fish sauce together, then pour into a pan and simmer for 4 minutes to make a sweet and sour sauce.
  6. 6 Add the fish to the pan and simmer for 8 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, then mix in cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

With an appliance

  • Oven 40 min

    Replace step 6: Place the fish in the sweet and sour sauce, cover, and simmer on the middle rack of the oven at 180 degrees for 8 minutes; do not flip the fish, only mix in the cornstarch after bringing the pot back to the stovetop.

Start cooking