Ca Hoi Nuong Recipe (Vietnamese Baked Salmon)

My version of a traditional Vietnamese Baked fish dish using Salmon (ca hoi nuong recipe)! The salmon is marinated with oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic and soy sauce, then baked and garnished with scallion oil, and peanuts. It’s the perfect dinner for the family.

Growing up, me and my siblings would take trips to restaurants for food that we couldn’t cook at home. My grandmother and my mom are great cooks, but truthfully certain dishes were out of their reach. This ca nuong dish is one of the latter. It is typically prepared using catfish, however I watched my friend make it with salmon and decided to give it a go. I’ve made Vietnamese catfish-based recipes into salmon dishes previously, such as the one in my ca kho to and the result has been amazing! I myself love this ca nuong with salmon recipe. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner too!

Is ca Nuong a thing?

The Ca Nuong dish is well-known food from Vietnam in which catfish are marinated before being roasted or cooked. It’s then topped by scallion oils (mo hanh) as well as crushed peanuts. The word ca is the Vietnamese term for fish while nuong refers to the Vietnamese word that means cooked or grilled. I created my variant of this dish with salmon as it’s easy to find in the area I live as I prefer salmon over catfish.

What is the best way to eat Vietnamese Baked Salmon?

There are two ways to eat ca hoi nuong in two different ways. The traditional method is as a spring roll made of fresh vermicelli noodles and herbs, and wrapped with rice paper. If I am eating this dish in a restaurant, the seafood fresh vegetables, fish, and vermicelli are laid out on the table. Every person takes what they like in their spring roll , and roll their own. Then, everyone dips their spring roll into the tamarind sauce. It’s a great experience for the whole family.

Another way to enjoy this is by eating it in a vermicelli bowl which is the one illustrated in the photos below. I believe this is the easiest way to enjoy ca nuong since you can dump everything into the bowl and then take a bite! I also make use of Vietnamese dipping sauce instead of the tamarind the dipping sauce as I like it and do not know exactly how you can make the tamarind sauce at the moment.

Substitutions, Ingredients and Adjustments

• Salmon – You can use any type of salmon in this recipe. I like two pounds of fillets for my recipe.
• Garlic adds taste to this dish. It also reduces the fishy taste of the dish.
• Sesame oil is a great ingredient to add a earthy spicy flavor to this dish.
• lemon juice lemon juice adds some brightness and freshness to the dish. It is possible to substitute it by rice wine vinegar or white vinegar that has been distilled.
• Fish Sauce: adds umami taste for the meal.
• Oyster sauce as well as soy sauce add umami flavour for the meal. In order to make the dish gluten-free you can substitute both of them with Tamari. An alternative to oyster sauce is to use more soy sauce.
• Grated sugar is a nice amount of sweetness to the dish to balance the savory flavor. The best substitutes are maple syrup and honey.
• unsalted butter butter is used in order to provide salmon its golden hue and also to add a touch of nuttiness.
• Vegetable oil and Green Onions Two ingredients together make scallion oil (also known as mo Hanh). The dish looks appealing and adds an additional taste. It is possible to use any oil to do this, however I prefer using an oil that is neutral like grape seed oil or vegetable oil. I’ve also tried it using olive oil that is light, and it’s effective!
• Peanuts is a nice touch more crunch. This ingredient as well as the scallion oil are usually served with the dish.

See more: Bun Thit Nuong (BBQ Pork & Rice Noodles)

Making the Ca Hoi Nuong recipe

The first step is to prepare your baking sheets. Lay two sheets of aluminum foil onto the baking sheet. The salmon should be placed on in the middle. Mix chopped garlic with sesame oil, minced garlic the juice of a lemon, fish sauce oyster sauce, soy sauce and granulated sugar into the bowl. Mix it all together and coat the salmon with marinade. Then let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven up to 425 degrees F. Spread butter melted onto the surface of the fish. Connect the two edges of your first layer aluminum foil to cover the salmon. If you own a huge chunk of fish, you might require another aluminium foil. Bake the salmon covered in the oven by foil for about 15 minutes. Within 15 minutes remove the salmon and turn the oven to a boil. Broil it for 5 – 10 mins until it turns a light golden brown the top. Remove the salmon from the oven. Mix the green onions with vegetable oil in the sauce pan. Cook for 10 to 15 seconds to ensure the vegetables have a shiny. Sprinkle the salmon with the drizzle. Finally, sprinkle with peanuts, and serve.

Did you prepare Ca Hoi Nuong dish?

If you have made this dish, I’d be interested to see the results!

Some other Vietnamese Fish recipes you can try:

• Canh Chua Ca – Sweet & Sour Fish Soup
• Ca Kho To – Caramelized And Braised Catfish
• Cháo Cá – Vietnamese Fish Congee
• Bun Cha Ca – Fried Fish Cake Noodle Soup

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