Catfish Salad with Vietnamese Fish Sauce

First step-by-step cooking project of the year, and what it beauty it turned out to be! Beautiful white catfish, fresh greens and carrots, and a zingy Vietnamese-style sauce. I have a few people to thank for my success: Claire for giving me the recipe for the sauce, Joann and her mommy for getting me some amazing fish sauce, and Whole Foods for having catfish on sale the day I felt too lazy to go to Chinatown or the Mission for cheap seafood.


You'll need:

• one catfish filet per person
• about half a cup of flour or cornstarch (I used both)
• black pepper
• canola oil
• one lime
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
• 2-3 Tbs. Vietnamese fish sauce
• 1 tsp. chopped jalepeno pepper or a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

For the sauce:

I have a nifty little gadget I got at Ross for $2. It has a few different sized grating plates, as well as a juicer top. Everything falls neatly into a plastic container, which has measurements on the side if I need it. It's great! Okay, end shameless plug for Ross. The sauce can easily be made by chopping everything and throwing them into a bowl.

Combine the zest of the lime, lime juice, sugar, chopped (or grated) garlic, fish sauce, and pepper if you're using it. Set aside to let flavors combine. I didn't do it tonight, but next time I might add a few grates of fresh ginger as well. The amount of everything you put in depends on your personal taste as well as whether or not the fish sauce you use has a lot of salt, sugar, or chili already in it. The bottle I opened had pepper flakes in it, so I didn't have to add anything. Did I mention that Joann's mom is wonderful?

Combine the flour and/or cornstarch with pepper and use it to dust the filets. Some people like to leave on a relatively thick layer of flour because it's crunchy and delicious. For your first time, I would suggest covering the filet well but then patting off most of the flour. It's much easier to cook this way.

Heat a tablespoon or two of canola oil on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place one filet on the pan. Do not touch the filet after it has made contact with the pan. Here's where patience pays off. Do not touch the fish until the bottom is completely cooked and has crusted a little. You can tell this is starting to happen if the bottom edge of the filet begins to brown and the edges of the side facing up start to turn white. Give it an extra minute if you're not sure, then gently shake the pan. If the filet doesn't move freely, it needs to cook a little longer. Beware: if you jostle the pan too soon, you might break the filet and end up with a broken mess no matter what you do.

When you can swirl the filet around the pan easily, flip it over with a spatula. You might have mad flipping skills, but I still recommend using a wide spatula when working with hot oil. It's just not worth the risk.

Cook until the bottom half of the fish is golden brown, then set on a bed of greens. Drizzle with the sauce and serve. Your tastebuds will thank you.