Vietnamese caramel salmon

Don’t be daunted by the caramel in this Vietnamese caramel salmon recipe. It’s a cinch to make and creates a dark, sticky sauce that is delicious with fresh salmon fillets.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (60g) caster sugar
• 1/2 cup (125ml) water
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 4 salmon fillets (about150g each)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 long red chilli, finely sliced
• 3 shallots, cut into 3cm batons
• steamed rice, green vegetables to serve

Method

Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it has melted and started to brown, swirling the pan occasionally. Carefully pour in water and stir for 3 minutes until dissolved. Add fish sauce and lime juice and continue cooking for a further minute. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick frypan. Cook salmon fillets skin-side down for 3 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes until almost done. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining oil in frypan. Add garlic, chilli and shallots and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add caramel and stir to combine. Gently return salmon to pan, spooning over sauce for a further minute until cooked through. Serve salmon with rice and steamed Asian greens.

Note

• Be very careful when melting the sugar as the temperature is very high. It will bubble up fiercely when you add the water.
• Don’t overcook the caramel – there’s a fine line between dark and sticky, and burnt.
• This recipe was create for Kidspot, New Zealand’s beståÊrecipe finderåÊby Greer Worsley, who blogs atåÊTypically Red.