This Sweet, Sticky Topping Is The Unexpected Finishing Touch For An Amazing Cod Dish

Once you've learned all the mistakes keeping you from cooking the perfect cod, there are many sauces and toppings you can use to enhance the flavor of this dish. One sauce you might not be as familiar with using for fish is a topping infused with sweetness.

Caramel cod is a recipe that pairs the sweet flavors of a caramelized sauce with the savory, buttery taste of fish. It's based on a Vietnamese cooking technique called kho, which is a way of braising protein such as chicken, fish, or tofu in a sweet caramel pan sauce. Unexpected savory additions like miso can perfect a caramel sauce, adding a rich umami flavor to those sweet and salty elements.

At its most basic, this caramel sauce, called Nước Màu in Vietnam, is made by heating about 4 tablespoons of sugar in a sauce pan until it starts to brown, and then stirring about 1/2 cup of water into the sugar. Simmer until you get a browned, sweet sauce, while avoiding overcooking it which would render a bit of bitter taste. Most cooks will add aromatics, soy sauce, or spices, and might substitute honey or molasses for the sugar. This caramel sauce will add a sticky, sweet, umami flavor to your cod, and also works really well with pork, chicken, ribs, and even tofu. Caramel sauce is a really good base for braising or stewing meat dishes, and adds a rich, salty sweetness to any meat you would braise in a western cooking tradition.  

Though Nước Màu can be made as a quick pan sauce, in Vietnam it was traditionally used to braise meat and fish, making what's called kho. Braising involves searing an ingredient at high heat and then cooking it in an added liquid until it is finished. There are two methods of braising, long and short. The technique you should choose depends on the cut of meat (or vegetables) you are cooking. To braise fish, you would use a short braise because the meat is very tender. (This technique would also work well for cooking vegetables or to make a medium-rare meat dish, too.) 

In the past, Vietnam had a large number of people who needed to cook using less expensive or smaller quantities of meat. Vietnamese chefs using the traditional kho braising technique are able to stretch the use of the protein by adding the amazingly rich, sweet, and salty sauce to the dish and serving it with a lot of rice. This allows the cook to use less of the expensive ingredients, such as meat, while still creating a filling meal. In addition, tougher cuts of meat are made more tender using the kho technique. 

If you're considering making this dish with cod or other fish such as tilapia or catfish, and topping it with the caramel sauce, the recipe pairs well with jasmine rice, a cooling cucumber salad to temper the intense sauce, or traditional Vietnamese vegetable dishes (called Rau) such as asparagus or green beans that won't overpower the main dish.