Ca Thu Kho - Mackerel Braised in Caramel Sauce

Ca kho is one of my favorite dishes growing up. We often eat variation of this dish each week because it's simple to make and does not require a lot of ingredients. My mom loves experimenting with different fish and I am always an eager guinea pig. Two of my favorite variations are mackerel and bass because I prefer the meaty texture. What makes this dish so irresistible? Ca kho is made by simmering the fish in a caramel sauce. In the end, the caramel sauce reduces down into a rich savory sauce that absorbs into every part of the fish. Every bite taste like it was made especially for you!

Ingredients:

1 mackerel
4 tablespoon of sugar
1-2 stalk of green onionsginger
ground pepper
fresh chili
cooking oil
water

Prepping:

1. Clean and gut your fish if needed. Cut into smaller portions.
2. Cut green onion into 1/2 inch portion3. 

3. Sliced ginger into very thin strips about 2 teaspoon.

Cooking:

1. Heat a small pot on medium heat. Add the sugar and 3tablespoon of fish sauce. Constantly stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolve and you have a brown sauce.
2. Stir in the green onion and add the fish.
3. Add a couple dash of ground pepper.
4. Add 1 cup of water.
5. Cover the pot with lid and turn the heat down a bit.
6. Heat up a separate pan and add little bit of cooking oil. Sauted the ginger strips until crispy.
7. Add half of ginger strip to the fish.
8. Smash the chili with your knife and add to the fish.
9. Let the fish cook until the caramel sauce is reduced down to about 1/4 of the original. Add more fish sauce if needed.
10. Before serving top the fish with a bit more of ground pepper and the rest of the ginger.