Vietnamese-Inspired Sweet & Spicy Catfish with Pickled Vegetables
A colorful array of red onion, garlic, carrot, cucumber, radish, scallion, ginger, edamame, sriracha, honey, yogurt, black sesame, rice noodles and catfish.
Back in the kitchen together again! And making pickles.
We thought the pickling liquid looked quite captivating before we whisked everything together.
Melissav says you can use any combination of the veggies she mentions -- we went with all of them.
The marinade for the fish.
Toasting black sesame seeds brings out a sweet, rich, nutty flavor. But be careful not to scorch them!
We coated the catfish completely in the marinade, using a bowl rather than a plastic bag -- it worked just fine.
A quick broil glazes the fish nicely.
Meanwhile, we whipped up the yogurt sauce with sriracha and honey.
And cooked the rice noodles and edamame.
We love melissav's technique of using some of the pickling liquid to flavor and moisten the noodles.
Serving dramatics.
Talk about colorful!
Author Notes: This recipe was adapted from a recipe published in Food & Wine for catfish sandwiches. It is a real crowd pleaser - even those who claim they hate catfish end up getting up for seconds. It is also great for a dinner party - it looks like the dish takes more effort than it actually does and catfish is quite economical compared to other fish. - melissav - melissav
Food52 Review: Rare is the dish that manages to be healthy and pure without throwing it in your face. This one succeeds. Melissav's flavors are clean and bright, but there's richness from the glazed fish and yogurt sauce to keep the dish from being spare -- and the textures run the gamut from tender to crisp. We love the addition of toasted sesame seeds (it was the first time we'd toasted black sesame, and we were delighted by the results), and the technique of tossing the edamame in with the rice noodles to cook. Use any leftover pickled veggies in banh mi, or as an accompaniment for cured meats. - A&M - A&M
Serves 4
Fish Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Honey
- 2 tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1/2 tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 Scallions, minced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Ginger, minced or grated on microplane
- 1 tablespoon Black Sesame Seeds, toasted
- 1 pinch each of Salt and Pepper
- 1.5 pounds Catfish
Remaining Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Carrots, cut into 4 pieces lengthwise, sliced thin
- 1/2 Small Red Onion, sliced thin
- 4-5 Radishes, sliced thin
- 1/2 Cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon Honey
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 14 oz. Box of Rice Noodles
- 1 1/2 cup Edamame
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
- Marinate the Fish - Put the fish in a ziplock bag. Mix all of the remaining ingredients under Fish Ingredients together and pour in the ziplock bag. Put in the fridge while you prepare the remaining components or up to 2 hours.
- Pickle the Vegetables - Mix together the two vinegars, the 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, 1 teaspoon salt. Add the carrots, onions, radishes, and cucumber and mix together. Set aside for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Note - you can really use any combo of these veggies you wish.
- Make the yogurt sauce - Mix together the yogurt, 1 tablespoon Sriracha, 1/4 teaspoon honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Make the noodles and edamame - Boil water and add the rice noodles. About 2 minutes before the noodles are done, add the edamame. Cook until al dente. Drain and Rinse with cold water. Return to the pot and just before serving, add the sesame seeds, 4-6 TB (to taste) of the vegetable pickling liquid, and salt to taste.
- Cook the fish: Broil for about 6-10 minutes until browned and cooked through. The cooking time really depends on the thickness of your fish.
- Assemble the Dish: In a shallow bowl or plate, place a mound of noodles and edamame, top with a piece of fish, drizzle the yogurt sauce over the fish, top with a scoop of the picked vegetables (drained of the pickling juice), and sprinkle with cilantro.
- Enjoy!
- Your Best Seafood Pasta Contest Finalist!
Tags: Asian, dinner party, dinner party, seafood, spicy, Vietnamese



13 days ago carswell
I bookmarked this one a couple of weeks ago and just got around to making it today as a girlfriend was coming over for dinner.
The overwhelming opinion was fantastic. I'll be doing this one again. I didn't use catfish as my local grocer didn't have any today - I used halibut.
13 days ago carswell
Oh, and I did rice and edamame instead of rice noodles.
14 days ago dianajburgess
one of the most amazing recipes out there. my kids were ready to fight for the last piece of catfish
about 1 month ago carswell
Oh. Em. Gee. That looks good.
12 months ago lupine
That was really good! Totally worth the hour it took for prep.
almost 2 years ago deanna1001
Just made this and loved it! Used hake instead of catfish. It was so light but with bright clean flavors. And it looks stunning. I'm looking forward to using the rest of the pickled beg on sandwiches tomorrow. If this had been submitted for a summer contest, it would have won hands down! Thanks.
almost 2 years ago deanna1001
Just caught that I typed beg instead of veg...
almost 2 years ago Summer of Eggplant
I made this the other night with salmon and it was lovely. A perfect sweet / salty combo. Tonight I am just doing the pickles and adding them to our salads. They are totally addictive, thanks!
over 2 years ago jenniferrpcv
was so excited to try this b/c it looked gorgeous but sadly it did not fulfill my expectations. flavor was virtually nonexistent on rice noodles and veggies did not get pickled enough. catfish was decent.
about 2 years ago melissav
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. I just noticed that I forget to note in step 4 to drizzle with sesame oil. It is in the ingredient list but I forgot to include it in the step. You also need to salt to taste. But we all have different tastes . . .that's what makes the food world so great!
over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Hi melissav! I made this tonight--we really enjoyed it. I added a squirt of lime because I thought it needed a little more acid. (But that's just me.) Great recipe--thanks!
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Just made this and really loved it! I hadn't made this type of rice noodle before...mine had instructions to soak in warm water for an hour, then cook for only 50 seconds. It was so easy! Also added some fresh red leaf lettuce chopped up. We'll make this again and again. Thanks for the great recipe.
over 2 years ago melissav
Thanks for the comment monkeymom. So glad you liked it. I like the addition of lettuce.
over 2 years ago allie
thoughts on whether this could be prepared ahead of time and served at room temp?
over 2 years ago melissav
I think it would work. I do wonder, however, if the noodles might get gummy or clump together. I would add an extra drizzle of sesame oil to the noodles to help with that. Let us know how it turns out.
over 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Just want to tell you that I made the pickled veggie part of your recipe to put on my pork belly buns tonight. The pickles were delicious! Can't wait to make the full recipe!
over 2 years ago ellyn laskey
So glad to hear that. Your pork belly buns sound good. I just got hungry thinking about them!
over 2 years ago melissav
Sorry - that comment above was from me. A friend was logged in on my computer and I didn't realize.
over 2 years ago Sagegreen
Congrats, melissav! What a bright set of flavors.
over 2 years ago monkeymom
Congrats melissav! It's beautiful and creative...and healthy? Wow, great job!
over 2 years ago melissav
Thanks everyone for your comments. I went to check the site today during lunch, completely forgetting that I had submitted a recipe to this contest. It was such a pleasant surprise to see my recipe staring me in the face!
over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
so happy for you--congrats!
over 2 years ago wanderash
I will be making this for sure! Looks great! Good luck.
over 2 years ago TasteFood
Congratulations - I love the Asian flavors!
over 2 years ago Kayb
Oh, gosh, sounds wonderful. I see this going on the menu as soon as it gets warm enough I don't want soup and stew!
over 2 years ago fortheloveofyum
congrats, this is a lovely dish!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Congrats! :)
over 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Congrats melissav! This looks really delicious!