Ca Ro-Phi Kho (Tilapia in Caramel Sauce)

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3 whole tilapia fish (cut in halves)
salt & pepper (salt to clean the fish; pepper to taste)
1 small red onion
lots of sugar
lots of nuoc mam
chicken granules or chicken bullion broth

1. Cut tilapia fish in half and put in large bowl. Salt generously & mix. Add water to rinse! This process cleans the fish so don't worry about measuring salt b/c it will be washed out. Soak the fish in a little bit of water then rinse again.
2. Cut one small red onion into slices. Slice 3 scallions (the white part of a green onion).
3. Heat up a stove pot (preferably something similar to a dutch oven) with heat set to small. When the pot is hot, add 1 PS of oil. Let that heat up for a minute or so, then add 1.5 PS of sugar. Stir. This is the beginning of the caramel sauce.
4. Pour in scallions and red onions into the pot and stir until golden brown.
5. Add 3 PS of nuoc mam, 1 PS sugar, 1/4 PS chicken broth, 1/4 PS pepper, 1/2 cup of water (yes, a real cup, not the American cup measurement but a drinking cup). Heat the mixture until it boils.
6. When it boils, gently place fish into the mixture.
7. Retaste - Mom added about 1/2 PS sugar and 3/4 PS of nuoc mam. She seemed to put way to much nuoc mam so compensated later with adding more sugar. I suggest just starting off with 1/4 PS of nuoc mam and adding more sugar. Simply pour this over the top of the mixture. No need to mix that much.
8. Cover the pot for 5 minutes. You can add more pepper if needed - maybe 1/8 PS.
9. Remove the lid. When it's almost done, add 1/2 PS of oil on top.
10. Retaste - add more nuoc mam or sugar as you see fit. Mom added an additional 3 PS sugar (b/c it was way too salty from earlier). This time - dump some of the sauce in the pot directly on top of the fish so it really soaks up the flavors.
11. Sprinkle in some dried red chili peppers if you like it a little spicy. You can also add sliced ginger to the mixture for extra flavor. Add diced green onions to garnish the dish at the very end :)
12. Let cook for another 5 minutes. And you're done!


Making the caramel sauce which is a mixture of sugar and oil.


Adding the red onions and scallions for browning.


Adding half a cup of water, nuoc mam, chicken broth, etc. 


Placing the fish into the mixture. Be careful not to move fish around too much; it should just sit in the caramel sauce.



Finished product!

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