Vietnamese "Fried" Fish with Tomato Sauce (Cá Chiên Sðt Cà)

While this dish is traditionally made with a whole fish and deep fried, this simpler version of Vietnamese fried fish with tomato sauce uses easy to find cod fillets. It's also a worthwhile use of fresh tomatoes with this homemade sauce that, unlike others, really levels up in flavor with fish sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vietnamese

Diet Gluten Free, Low Fat, Low Lactose

Keyword cod with tomatoes, pan fried cod, seared fish recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings

Calories 362kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

1 frying pan at least 8" in diameter

Ingredients

1 lb cod, cut into 2 portions skin on or off, see Note 1 for substitutions
salt for seasoning fish
2 Tb olive oil or other cooking oil
1 ½ c chopped, fresh tomato about 2 medium tomatoes, cut into roughly 1" dice
2 ea green onion, sliced white and green parts separated
1 ea garlic clove, minced about 1 teaspoon
1 ea shallot cut into thin slices
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Heat a pan to medium high heat. While it's heating, pat the cod filets dry with paper towel. Sprinkle both sides of the fillet with salt to taste. (For me this is about a ¼ tsp).
Add 1 Tb of the oil to the hot pan. Place fish presentation side down in the hot pan. The presentation side is the side of the fish you want to serve facing up. This could have the skin, if using, or the clean side of the fish without brown skin marks.
The fish will take 3-5 minutes to develop a crust and release from the pan. Remove to a plate, with the presentation side up, and set aside.
In the same pan as the fish, add the remaining 1 Tb oil to the pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, white part of the green onion, and shallot. Saute for 1-2 minutes until translucent until the vegetables sizzle and soften. They should not brown.
Add the chopped tomatoes, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper to the pan. Continue stirring and cook until the tomatoes begin to melt. This will take 4-6 minutes.
Nestle the fish fillets, seared side up, to the pan. Cover and continue to cook for 2-5 minutes until the fish is cooked through or reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. If the sauce starts to dry out, add a little water to the pan.
Garnish with the green part of the sliced green onion, and serve hot.

Notes

Substitute cod with salmon, swordish, albacore tuna, seabass, or mackerel.
If defrosting frozen fish, make sure the fish fillets are thoroughly dry to obtain the best crust. Dab with paper towels.
Vine ripe fresh tomatoes make a big difference in this recipe, though canned tomatoes will work too.
The tomato sauce is your friend. If your seared fish is not pretty, just cover with tomato sauce wherever needed.
This tastes really lovely on top of rice, but a fresh green salad or stir fried greens work too.

Recipe adapted from the The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam cookbook by Bach Ngo & Gloria Zimmerman. (Shallots have been added and quantities have been adjusted.)

Nutrition