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Bếp Rơm
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Fish braised in caramel sauce in a clay pot, scattered with spring onion, ginger strips and sliced red chilli

Braises, soups and rice

Snakehead braised in a clay pot

Cá lóc kho tộ (snakehead braised in a clay pot) is fish cut in thick pieces and braised in coconut caramel until the sauce reduces to a salty-sweet glaze on the flesh. Head chef Trần Kim Loan braises it on a low flame, so the pieces arrive at the table whole.

178,000 VNDMildFish

Contains: Fish (including fish sauce and fermented fish). Shared kitchen, traces possible. Allergen table

ReserveAll of braises, soups and rice

Six stations, kitchen to table

  1. The fish

    3 cm thick pieces

    Snakehead is cleaned and cut into thick pieces so that after braising each one still holds its shape.

  2. Marinating

    30 minutes

    The pieces are marinated in fish sauce, sugar, minced shallot and pepper before they go in the pot.

  3. The caramel

    5 minutes

    Sugar is cooked with coconut water to an amber caramel that is the base of the braise.

  4. The clay pot

    Ø 20 cm pot

    The fish lies in one layer in the clay pot with the caramel poured over; clay holds even heat and keeps the sauce hot longer.

  5. The braise

    45 minutes, low flame

    A low simmer until the sauce thickens and clings to the flesh; Loan does not stir, so the fish does not break up.

  6. Pepper, chilli

    1 slice of chilli

    Green peppercorns go in at the end with one slice of bird chilli; eaten hot over rice.

What is in it

Snakehead braised in coconut caramel in a clay pot, with green peppercorns and one slice of bird chilli. It sits in Braises, soups and rice: this is a dish to eat with rice. Trần Kim Loan cooks it the way she learned in the family rice restaurant, in a clay pot over a low flame.

How to eat it

Spoon a piece of fish with some of the sauce over a bowl of rice (VND 15,000 a bowl) and eat it hot. The sauce is salty and sweet, so the rice balances it; a pot of fish usually comes with a plate of greens and a bowl of soup. If you want the same fish cooked another way, there is cá lóc nướng trui (snakehead grilled whole in burning straw). The round mâm (a set of dishes laid for the whole table) for six, VND 1,290,000, has both: see the set menus.

Who it suits, who should skip it

Mild heat, level 1 on a 0 to 3 scale. The chilli is a single slice, so ask us to leave it out when you order, especially with small children at the table. The pieces have bones, which adults need to pick out for children.

Allergens: fish (the snakehead and the fish sauce in the braise). If you are allergic to fish, skip this dish. The kitchen is shared, so we cannot promise there are no traces, and we track only nine allergen groups. It is not vegetarian.

Price and booking

VND 178,000 per pot, 8% VAT included. Pick by heat with the spice filter or by allergen with the allergen filter, then reserve a table: no deposit under 8 guests, and we hold the table for 15 minutes.

Order alongside