Braised Snakehead Fish in Clay Pot

Clean the snakehead fish, pat dry, and cut into 1 cm thick slices. Rinse and mince the white parts of the scallions; crush, peel, and mince the garlic cloves. Rinse the pork belly, slice thinly, and blanch briefly.

Food photography of Braised Snakehead Fish in Clay Pot, styled as an authentic Vietnamese dish.

Prep | Cook Time:

45 min

Braised Snakehead Fish in Clay Pot is deeply savory and caramelized, with fish slowly cooking down until the sauce turns glossy and concentrated. VV FOODS enhances the braising liquid so the dish tastes rich, traditional, and perfectly suited to a bowl of hot rice.

Use:

Chicken Pho Ga Base

Ingredients

1 whole snakehead fish (cá lóc) about 300 g
2 stalks scallion (hành lá)
4 cloves garlic
100 g pork belly (thịt ba rọi)
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp chicken stock powder (súp cốt gà hiệu VV FOODS)
½ bowl cold water (about 120 ml)
Salt, pepper, sugar, and chili to taste
1 clay pot (tộ cá) for cooking

Preperation

Clean the snakehead fish, pat dry, and cut into 1 cm thick slices. Rinse and mince the white parts of the scallions; crush, peel, and mince the garlic cloves. Rinse the pork belly, slice thinly, and blanch briefly.

Instructions

Heat the clay pot, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and 2 tablespoons of sugar; cook over medium heat until the sugar melts and turns a light caramel color.
Add the minced garlic and scallion whites; stir‑fry until fragrant and slightly golden.
Add the fish slices and stir quickly to coat.
Pour in about ½ bowl of cold water, add 4 teaspoons of chicken stock powder, and the blanched pork belly; bring to a gentle simmer.
Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and chili to taste; continue to simmer until the fish is colored and the liquid has mostly reduced.
When the liquid is nearly gone, sprinkle a little extra ground pepper on top.
Transfer to a serving plate and accompany with fresh lettuce, fish mint, bean sprouts, cucumber strips, cilantro, and Thai basil.