Fish steamer in Ca hamlet, Tan An village, Xuan Son Nam commune (Dong Xuan district). Photo: MANH HOAI NAM

Fish cooked with pork belly

In the coastal areas of Tuy An district and Tuy Hoa city, people who buy fish at the market often process it into sweet and salty fish dishes. Talking about the delicious fish dish, Ms. Phan Thi Hong in Ward 2 (Tuy Hoa city) said: Sweet fish dishes are old-fashioned, like the saying "cooking peanut soup with oil cake". The way to cook fish dishes that many people like today is fish with pork belly, which is both strange and delicious.

According to Ms. Hong, to cook fish with pork belly, people going to the market must buy fish with sparkling eyes (fresh fish, when the fishing boat reaches the shore, the eyes are still clear, the gills are still red). Clean it, put the pot of water on the stove, cut the fish into pieces, toss the tongs into the pot of boiling water, stand by and watch it boil a few times, then turn off the heat. Then cut the pork belly into the pot and cook for a few more minutes, season with spices and herbs to taste, then turn off the heat. This cooking method is called cooking fish with two fires.

“After cooking, I told my daughter to use a ladle to taste the pot of fish cooked with pork belly to see if it was sweet enough. She tasted it and clicked her tongue. I asked again, is it sweet? She said “yes” for a while and then said: it was so sweet that it broke the pot,” Ms. Hong shared.

Fresh mackerel cooked with pork belly seasoned with spices and herbs. Photo: MANH HOAI NAM

Also according to Ms. Hong, recently a friend from far away came to visit and she treated them to a dish of two-fired fish. When the meal was served, there was a bowl of steaming fish broth. Smelling the aroma, everyone quickly grabbed a bowl of noodles and poured the fish broth into the bowl. Those who liked spicy food added a green chili, blew and slurped, praising the simple, delicious, and cheap fish dish.

Some people wonder why we don't cook the fish with the pork belly at the same time, but instead cook it on two separate fires? Ms. Hong explains: Fresh fish is not marinated in oil, cut into pieces and put in the pot, so it is cooked on two fires to "dissipate" the blood and water, and not have a fishy smell. If we cook fish and pork belly together at the same time, they will not change from the cold to hot stage, and the fishy smell will reduce the sweetness, making it less delicious.

Sitting with a group enjoying sweet fish cooked with pork belly, Mr. Tran Van Phu from An Ninh Dong commune (Tuy An district) said: The way to cook fish without making the water cloudy is to put a pot of water on the stove and add a little salt. When the water just starts to bubble (about to boil), put the fish in the pot. Don't let the water boil over and put the fish in, or the water will be cloudy.

Fish lying on fire

Sitting and talking about the two-fired fish dish, Mr. Pham Van Can, who lives near the embankment of Tuy Hoa City, said that he has been eating grilled fish until his teeth are worn out, but when drinking, he likes the grilled fish dish the most. Mr. Can continued: Grilled fish must be grilled twice to be delicious. Before grilling, the fish is pre-processed, marinated with onion, pepper, chili, and garlic, then stuffed into the belly of green onions. Then the fish is grilled in two stages, first wrapped in foil, called "blanketed fish", when cooked, the foil is removed and grilled again on charcoal, so it is called "two-fired fish".

According to Mr. Can, grilled fish is done over two fires, the first fire is covered with a blanket to keep the water in the fish sweet, and the spices are then pressed into the meat. When removing the foil to grill for the second time, the fish meat absorbs the fire and wood... "My beach-going group often invites you to enjoy grilled fish with two fires. When enjoying, you have to eat it right away because when it cools, the meat loses its aroma. The right way to eat grilled fish is to break the rice paper into four, dip it in water, take each piece and spread it out on the palm of your hand, pick up vegetables, bean sprouts, grated coconut, and eggplant, spread it evenly, then pick up a little grilled fish meat, stack it on top, roll it up, and dip it in fish sauce. It's delicious," said Mr. Can.

Grilled mackerel with two fires. Photo: MANH HOAI NAM

Cracked fish

For a long time, the fish has been a dish closely associated with the lives of people in the mountains. However, in the mountains, people rarely eat fresh fish, but only eat steamed fish, which some people call cracked fish.

According to many elderly people in the mountainous areas, during the war, people in the lowlands often supplied steamed “o” fish to the soldiers and revolutionary soldiers operating in the mountainous areas of Dong Xuan and Son Hoa. At that time, “o” fish became a daily dish for the soldiers and the people here. Today, in the mountainous areas and remote areas of Dong Xuan and Son Hoa districts, “o” fish is still a delicious dish that people always look forward to every market day.

The o fish, also known as the “surprise” fish, is a type of fish belonging to the tuna family, in the tuna family. The fish is small in size, has an elongated body, smooth skin, a blue back and a white belly. The o fish usually lives in the coastal waters of Phu Yen and is caught all year round, however the best season is from April to June of the lunar calendar.

Dong Xuan mountainous district has Ca hamlet in Tan An village, Xuan Son Nam commune. Asking the residents in the hamlet, we know that the name Ca hamlet dates back to the time of the resistance war against the French. This hamlet is located on the DT641 route, between two winding steep passes, below is Ba Truc slope - bordering Tan Phu village (Xuan Son Nam), above is Con Ca pass - bordering Long An quarter (La Hai town, Dong Xuan district). At the first rooster crow (around 2 am), women go down to the coastal area of ​​Xuan Dai bay (Song Cau town) to buy fish, steam them, then bring them to the market, arrange them in rows and display them for sale, so it is called Ca hamlet.