Vietnamese Roasted Catfish | Ca Nuong

Pour boiling hot water on catfish and with an unused stainless steel scrubber or use the side of a butter knife to scrape along the skin to remove the dark outer layer. You want the skin to look white.

Flatten catfish by snapping the front fin section one either side and pushing it down, then pat the fish dry with paper towels. For a nice crispy skin, it’s best to put the catfish in the fridge overnight wrapped with paper towels so it is nice and dry to roast.

Score both sides of the fish by making shallow, diagonal cuts across the fish’s body about an inch or so apart.

Place parchment paper on the rack of the roasting pan and place catfish over it.

Brush inside and outside of fish with the melted butter.

Mix together salt, pepper, garlic powder and mushroom powder for your dry rub.  Rub dry rub all over the catfish including inside of fish.

Turn catfish over and stuff catfish with sliced onions and ginger, then turn back so that the catfish is laying flat, spread open.

Place catfish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes (less if it’s a smaller catfish) at 450 degrees.

Mix honey and white vinegar to make the honey glaze.

After 45 minutes, pull pan out and pour out any juice that’s left before adding the honey glaze.

Brush both sides of catfish with the honey glaze and turn pan around. Put it back in the oven to cook for another 15 minutes (again, less time if it’s a smaller catfish).

In a wok or small saucepan, add oil. Make sure that whatever cooking equipment you use, it needs to cover LESS than half if not 1/3 of the pot/wok to avoid the hot oil from spilling over once you add the shallots.

Once oil is hot, add your sliced shallots. Keep stirring them around until they’re nice and brown. They burn quickly so watch carefully. As soon as they start turning a nice brown color, remove from oil immediately. I usually like to put them on a plate lined with paper towel to soak the oil from the shallots. Set aside.

While the oil is still hot but the heat turned off, add your green onions to create green onion oil.

Remove the catfish from the oven. Spoon green onion oil mix all over the catfish. Top with fried shallots, roasted peanuts, cilantro sprigs and lime wedges.

Serve catfish as a filling in rice paper rolls stuffed with lettuce, vermicelli noodles and herbs, and if you like you can dip the rolls with a hoisin dipping sauce, nuoc cham (fish dipping sauce) or mam nem (fermented anchovy dipping sauce).