Fish Sauce Tarte Tatin

In the latest edition of Demystified: Fish Sauce, we delve into its unexpected role as a seasoning in desserts. Our exploration begins with its application in the savory dimension of a classic French dessert: tarte tatin with apples. Traditionally, caramel is prepared with apples, and for the more adventurous chefs, a touch of salt is added to achieve a delightful balance of sweet and savory.

This isn’t my first encounter with fish sauce in desserts; I've had the pleasure of sampling fish sauce ice cream and a fish sauce flan before (big shout out to Salt & Straw). With its high water content, fish sauce blends seamlessly into various desserts, whether added directly or cooked down into a caramel application.

Kudos to Preppy Kitchen for his inventive caramel method. Start by heating sugar and a mixture of fish sauce and water to craft a caramel base. Then, add room temperature unsalted butter for a luscious, velvety caramel that perfectly harmonizes with the apples, eliminating the need for extra salt.

For tender apples, opt for a tart baking apple and skip the typical acidulated water soak to prevent browning, as the apples will caramelize during cooking. By avoiding excess moisture, the apples can cook evenly on the stovetop and in the oven, ensuring a smooth caramelization process without creating a runny caramel.

Ingredients

• 6 Granny smith apples

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 4 tablespoons water

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese Five-Spice powder

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Special Equipment

• 9-inch cast iron pan

Makes 1 9-inch tarte, Good for 6-8 people

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core, and slice the apples into quarters. Set aside.

2. In your cast iron pan, add the sugar, water, and fish sauce. Make sure the fish sauce coats all of the sugar. Bring that up to a simmer over medium heat. Keep an eye on the caramel so it doesn’t burn. If you notice the caramel changing color more quickly than other areas, give it a swirl, do not disturb it with a spoon or spatula. This should take about five minutes.

3. Once the caramel is golden yellow, add in the butter and Chinese Five-Spice powder. Once the butter has melted into the caramel, reduce the heat slightly to low. Add in your apples and cook for ten minutes. At first, the caramel may seize up when it’s introduced to the cold, wet apples but over the course of a few minutes, it should thin out as the apples release their juices. Continue to keep an eye on the apples and caramel to make sure the caramel doesn’t burn. Once the apples can be pierced with a fork, set aside to cool.

4. While the apples and caramel are cooling, lightly roll out your puff pastry dough. Do not roll it out too thinly, we just want to make sure that we have enough space to cut out a 10-inch circular piece.

5. Rearrange the apples so that the backs are facing the bottom of the pan or on their sides in a circular pattern. Transfer the circular piece of puff pastry to the 9-inch cast iron pan. Tuck the edges of the puff pastry down using a spoon or off set knife.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the top of the puff pastry is golden brown. Allow the tarte tatin to cool for five minutes before placing the serving plate and flipping the tarte. You want the caramel to be loose but not bubbling hot. Serve with a few scoops of residual caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream!

Adapted from Preppy Kitchen