This bonus recipe is called pla too tom kem, which means salty braised mackerel. This is an odd name because it is actually quite sweet! It's one of those rustic, homey dishes you won't find in Thai restaurants overseas. The mackerel is braised for 20 minutes in a broth flavoured with soy sauce, ginger, and palm sugar, which results in a satisfyingly firm fish that's flavourful throughout. And the broth becomes a great sauce to spoon over rice. It'll end up tasting much like a Japanese simmered mackerel dish if you're familiar with that!
Originally, Thai short mackerels or pla too are used, but the regular mackerel you get in N. America works perfectly, and I even prefer it as it's meatier with less bones. It keeps very well in the fridge, and will even taste better the next day!
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Be sure to watch the bonus video tutorial in the recipe card for more context, including how the traditional Thai version is different from this one.
Sweet and Salty Braised Mackerel (Pla Tom Kem)
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Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns, or more if you like it peppery
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 chopped cilantro stems, or use 2 cilantro roots
- 1 ½ tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 ½ cup water
- 5 thin slices ginger
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 ½ Tablespoons chopped palm sugar, or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoons black soy sauce, or dark soy sauce (see note 1)
- 4 mackerel filets, cut in half if they won’t fit in your pot
- 3.5 oz pork belly or pork butt, cut in ½-inch pieces (optional, see note 2)
- Pickled mustard greens, for serving (optional, see note 3)
- Jasmine rice, for serving
Notes
- If using Chinese dark soy sauce, it is much saltier than Thai black soy sauce, so reduce the amount of fish sauce by about 2 teaspoons.
- A small amount of fatty pork is sometimes added to add flavour to the braising liquid and to also contribute fat to the dish. Totally optional!
- Since this is a sweet and salty dish, a tart crunchy pickle would go be great to balance. Pickled mustard greens is great, but any other pickles you have will do. Alternatively, serve it with a Thai salad.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!
Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- In a mortar and pestle, pound the peppercorns into a powder, then at the garlic and cilantro stems and pound into a fine paste.¼ tsp white peppercorns, 3 cloves garlic, 6 chopped cilantro stems
- In a medium-size pot, add the oil and the herpes and saute over medium heat until aromatic and the herbs have started to brown slightly.1 ½ Tbsp neutral oil
- Deglaze with the water, then add the ginger, fish sauce, palm sugar, and black soy sauce. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then at the mackerel fillets and the pork belly (if using). Top it up with more water if needed to keep the fish almost submerged, then loosely cover the pot and let it simmer gently on low heat for at least 20 minutes or until the pork belly is fork tender. You can keep it braising longer if you wish, the longer you braise the firmer and more flavourful the fish will be.1 ½ cup water, 5 thin slices ginger, 3 Tablespoons fish sauce, 2 ½ Tablespoons chopped palm sugar, 1 Tablespoons black soy sauce, 4 mackerel filets, 3.5 oz pork belly or pork butt
- Once the fish is done, taste the sauce and adjust seasonings as needed. you want it to be sweet and salty in equal parts.
- Serve with jasmine rice and pickled mustard greens, or another kind of pickle.Pickled mustard greens, Jasmine rice
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