Herring rolls, grilled squid teeth, whimpering fish dipped in vinegar, and dragon fruit seafood salad are dishes diners should try when coming to Binh Thuan.
Dishes from squid teeth
Teeth are small bumps on the squid’s head. When processing, many people often throw it away. However, according to local people, the taste of teeth is no less delicious than that of squid body. This ingredient can be processed into many different dishes such as squid tooth rolls, salt-roasted squid teeth, grilled squid teeth… Among them, grilled squid teeth are a popular dish.
After cleaning, the squid tooth balls are marinated with spices, then strung on bamboo sticks and grilled on a red charcoal stove. Fresh squid teeth will be chewy and crispy when grilled. This dish is often served with cucumbers and pickles to balance the flavor.
Dragon fruit seafood salad
Dragon fruit seafood salad is a blend of the sweetness of Phan Thiet seafood with the cool taste of a specialty fruit from the South Central region. Dragon fruit used in salads is white-fleshed, moderately sour and sweet, with little water so it’s easy to chop. Seafood is usually shrimp, squid, fresh, just caught.
Seafood is only lightly boiled, cooked enough but without losing its fresh taste. Peeled shrimp, cut squid, carrots, sliced onions, chili, herbs, dragon fruit mixed with sweet and sour fish sauce mixture. Then squeeze in lemon, chili, fried onions, and roasted peanuts. This salad is often eaten with shrimp chips.
Braised bamboo shoots with pork trotters rolled with rice paper
This is a traditional dish, often seen during Tet among Binh Thuan people. However, today, this dish is also on the menu of restaurants and eateries, serving diners at all times of the year.
Phan Thiet people eat braised bamboo shoots with banh tet, or more uniquely, roll rice paper. Rice paper soaked in warm water, rolled with braised bamboo shoots, added tubers, raw vegetables, rolled tightly and dipped in specialty cot ear fish sauce, mixed with dangerous chili.
Herring rolls
Phan Thiet herring spring rolls are a familiar dish to the people here, but are still quite unfamiliar to many tourists. Clean herring, shave scales, remove head and gills, gut, then fillet, puree, mix with some vegetables such as carrots, cassava and spices, then roll in rice paper and deep-fry.
Each crispy spring roll, with the rich flavor of sea herring, mixed with the sweetness of cassava when eaten with raw vegetables, sour mango and peanut sauce, will be a great appetizer for diners. guests at parties, death anniversaries or year-end family gatherings.
A full tray of herring spring rolls will include crispy fried herring spring rolls, raw vegetables, mango, sour star fruit, sour spring rolls, and rice paper. Diners roll their hands tightly and dip into the thick sauce made from pure fish sauce mixed with chili, crushed crispy roasted peanuts, and granulated sugar.
Fish salad
Sea fish are abundant in Binh Thuan waters. According to local people, this fish has little meat, so only drying it in cheese is delicious. Dried fish meat has a sweet, fatty taste. Grilled dried fish over charcoal fire, removing skin, head, and bones, then mixed with basil, marigold, and green mango. The step that determines the deliciousness of this dish is the mixing water. A standard cup of mixed water must have enough sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors.
Fish salad is available in many eateries and restaurants. Some places vary and mix other ingredients such as pork, pig ears, shrimp… to increase the flavor.
The fish whimpered and dipped in vinegar
The whimpering fish is also called the small shark. This is a strange dish but the preparation is not complicated. After removing the skin from the fish, wash it, drain it, fillet it into thin slices, marinate with crushed ginger to remove the fishy smell. The pot of vinegar water is mixed depending on taste. Usually there will be vinegar, pineapple, tomatoes and some green onions.
Local people use fish liver to prepare dipping sauce, creating a characteristic feature of the dish. Boil fish liver, chop, mix with pureed lean pork, marinate with minced shallots, pepper, fish sauce… and fry the mixture. After dipping the fish in a pot of vinegar, when cooked, dip it in fish liver water.
Fat fish
Bamboo fish are quite popular in Binh Thuan, appearing a lot from July to September of the lunar calendar. The fish meat is firm and is processed into many dishes by people. The most famous dish is fried fish with fat. After cleaning the fish, cut it into square pieces and steam it. Fried pork fat until golden brown, fried with green onions. When eating, sprinkle over fish.
Fish sauce for dipping fish is often mixed with tamarind, garlic, chili, sugar, and mixed with steamed fish liver to create a fatty taste.
Phan Thiet rice cake
Banh re is a specialty that many tourists buy as gifts when coming to Phan Thiet. The cake has a sweet taste, made from shredded cassava or sweet potato, fried until golden brown and sprinkled with melted sugar on the surface of the cake like a rack.
This dish is sold at most specialty shops. Visitors can find and buy them here.
Grilled rice paper with shrimp paste
Grilled rice paper with shrimp paste is also a popular dish on the streets of Phan Thiet. Black sesame rice paper spread with fish sauce, sprinkled with boiled quail eggs, spring rolls, fish cakes and onions on top then grilled over charcoal. When the cake is cooked, the seller uses a small bamboo stick to roll the cake.
Cauldron cake
This is a popular popular cake in Phan Thiet. Banh quai vac is a combination of the chewy taste of the layer made of tapioca flour and the filling of shrimp and fresh meat. In terms of shape and structure, Phan Thiet cauldron cake is similar to tapioca cake but smaller.
The soul of this dish is Phan Thiet fish sauce, mixed with chili, has a thick consistency, sweet and sour taste and is very spicy. When using Banh Quai Vac, local people sprinkle fried purple onions and pork rinds to add flavor.
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)