Vietnamese Shrimp in Caramel Sauce (Tom Kho Recipe)

This evening, I finished preparing dinner but realized everything was vegetarian. And if you think like me, vegetarian food is good but it's still lacking one thing. What's missing, you might ask? I looked at our dining table and I immediately knew what would make dinner complete: a dish of shrimp.

I had one pound of small shrimp begging to be cooked. So in less than 30 minutes, I whipped up some tôm kho, which is Vietnamese for shrimp in caramel sauce. The key is the amber-color sauce cooked with coconut soda (if you're lucky and have fresh coconut water, it would taste even better), onion, garlic and a hint of good quality nước mắm (fish sauce). Even though the most of my family are vegetarians, if cooked properly, the scent of this seafood dish doesn't bother them.

Ca Kho Gung Recipe (Catfish Recipe)

Cá bông lau, "catfish" in English, is a very common fish in Vietnamese cooking. There are numerous preparations, and I've shared some in the past. Today, I prepared a caramelized sauce made of ginger and kaffir lime leaves called cá kho gừng to go with the catfish. It gives the fish a lovely light brown color.

The addition of kaffir lime leaves and red chiles gives a special zing to this seafood dish. And as usual a bowl of freshly made white jasmine rice makes a superb pairing!

Poached Carp Fillet Recipe

Today I found beautiful silver carp fish fillets at the market. I decided to oven poach the fillets, which makes the preparation pretty quick. The cooking time is very approximate as it depends on the size of the fillets and the baking dish. I usually watch the fish closely as soon as the poaching liquid starts bubbling. The fish will become opaque and will shrink up slightly when it's done.  

I made a caramel sauce to accompany the fillets using sugar, coconut soda, fish stock, leeks, wasabi, kaffir lime leaves and black pepper. It’s so tasty, it could make just about anything taste great!

Vietnamese Braised Catfish in Fish Sauce (Ca Kho)

Cá kho literally translates to "braised fish". I cooked catfish steaks in a caramel fish sauce and let simmer until the delicate, flaky fish became an opaque white color for this fairly common Vietnamese dish.

I served the seafood dish with brown jasmine rice and leafy greens. I'm on day 2 of my "back-into-shape" plan, but don't worry, flavor is not being sacrificed!

Horseradish Cream Sauce for Fish

Fish can have a strong taste, depending on the kind of fish and how it's prepared, which often necessitates a counter-balance of flavor. Horseradish sauce ("sauce au raifort" in French) is an excellent option.

Horseradish gives a depth of flavor to almost any fish due to its subtle tinge of heat, when added in small quantities. Whether you pair the sauce with a simple fish preparation cooked in butter, fish en papillote or steamed fish, this delicious horseradish sauce will be the highlight of your entrée.