Fish soup in Quynh Coi town is one of the specialties of Thai Binh, the ingredients and preparation method are different from regular fish soup.
More than 20 km from Thai Binh city, Quynh Coi town, Quynh Phu district is also known as mulberry street because this tree is everywhere. The rich rice fields in Quynh Phu not only produce delicious rice grains but are also a habitat for rice perch. Rice paper and perch are the main ingredients of Quynh Coi fish soup.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Long (50 years old) was born and raised in Quynh Coi town, and has 19 years of experience in processing fish soup. At the age of 31, he started opening a restaurant in Quynh Coi town. Different from people’s imagination about regular fish soup, “Quynh Coi fish soup not only has fish and vegetables but also white rice paper, which can be eaten at any time of the day,” he said.
In April this year, Mr. Long went to Hanoi to open a restaurant selling Quynh Coi fish soup at 73 Vo Chi Cong, Tay Ho district, Hanoi. The shop sells goods in two time frames: 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. With an area of about 120 m2, clean and airy space, the restaurant can welcome about 40 – 50 guests at the same time.
Although the restaurant opened in Hanoi, “the main ingredients are imported from Thai Binh to retain the original delicious flavor of Quynh Coi fish soup,” Mr. Long said. Quynh Coi fish soup has two main ingredients: perch and thin white rice paper from Doi village (literally called Du Hai). This is a famous traditional rice paper making village in Dong Hai commune, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh. According to Mr. Long, Doi village rice paper is thin, about 0.3 cm wide, clear white, thick and crispy. When cooked, the noodles turn white, become chewier and have a fragrant rice scent. The only ingredient Mr. Long bought in Hanoi to ensure freshness was bitter mustard greens. All ingredients are imported the same day.
From 5:00 a.m., Mr. Long began the preliminary processing of raw materials to prepare for sale. The perch is scaled, the internal organs cleaned, and boiled to remove the meat and bones. The process of deboning the fish requires skill so that the fish is not crushed, then cut into pieces about 3 cm, marinate with spices for 30 minutes and then simmer in oil over low heat until the fish is firm. Each batch of fish Mr. Long must simmer for at least an hour so that the meat absorbs the spices and has a beautiful dark yellow color.
Braised perch costs 600,000 VND per kg. Photo provided by the shop.
Quynh Coi fish soup made from perch. Photo provided by the shop.
The fish meat is simmered until it turns dark yellow.
The broth is added with fish eggs to create richness. Photo provided by the shop.
Hot blanched rice paper and vegetables are placed on the bottom, with fish meat on top.
Tiny yellow fish eggs floating on the surface of the soup bowl are a special feature of Quynh Coi fish soup.
The fish bones are simmered with pork bones (60% fish bones and 40% pork bones), dried onions, and crushed ginger for about 7 – 8 hours to make broth. Mr. Long often takes advantage of the restaurant’s mid-day break (2pm – 4pm) to cook broth for the next day, and doesn’t finish it until around 11pm. “While cooking, you must regularly observe and adjust the cooking pot parameters to maintain a constant, stable temperature to extract all the sweetness of the bones, without needing to use MSG,” he said.
Additional but indispensable ingredients in Quynh Coi fish soup are green vegetables. When he first opened the restaurant in Hanoi, Mr. Long used mustard greens and spinach. But seeing that spinach is not popular, he currently only uses bitter spinach. Vegetables are cut into pieces about 3 cm long, mixed with chopped dill, and stored in a bowl.
It’s called soup, but some of the steps to prepare Quynh Coi fish soup are similar to fish noodle soup or pho. White rice paper and vegetables are blanched in a separate pot of broth, then put in a bowl, add pieces of golden-browned fish on top of the green vegetables, and pour in the broth.
Quynh Coi fish soup does not have many eye-catching colors. White rice paper, green vegetables, light yellow broth with dark yellow braised fish meat. The special feature is the tiny fish eggs on the surface of the soup bowl.
The cool bitter taste of vegetables accentuates the natural sweetness of fish bones and meat. The crispy white rice paper absorbs the broth and turns chewy and sweet. Born and raised in Quynh Coi town, currently working in Hanoi, Vu Dang Phuong (26 years old) commented that the fish soup at Mr. Long’s restaurant retains up to 90 – 95% of the original flavor of Quynh Coi fish soup. . The broth has the aroma of ginger and onion, moderate consistency. Braised fish is rich in flavor but not crushed. When the rice paper is soaked in the broth, it becomes chewier and sweeter, not mushy or broken when picked up. “If there is more spinach, the flavor of the fish soup will be richer,” said Mr. Phuong.
As a person who has worked in tourism for 6 years and has had the opportunity to enjoy hometown specialties in many provinces and cities, according to Phuong, “wherever Thai Binh people go, they can easily recognize their compatriots through fish soup.” In addition to Quynh Coi fish soup, Phuong also enjoyed fish soup in Thai Binh City, characterized by red broth (from tomatoes or gac juice), served with fried fish or fish cakes. However, Phuong still likes the taste of Quynh Coi fish soup, a dish associated with his childhood.
The front of the shop is at 73 Vo Chi Cong Street.
Two foreign guests enjoy a special bowl of Quynh Coi fish soup at the restaurant. Photo provided by the shop.
The restaurant has an area of more than 100 m2, bright and spacious space.
Mr. Long is preparing fish soup.
After about 5 months of opening, the restaurant now has a stable number of customers. Customers come to the restaurant of all ages, but the majority are middle-aged. Because the fish has been carefully deboned, many families also bring children to enjoy it. Sometimes, the restaurant welcomes foreign guests.
Every day, Mr. Long processes 50 – 70 kg of fresh fish. On a normal day, the shop sells about 200 bowls. On weekends there are more visitors, the number doubles. Because fish soup tastes better when eaten hot, winter or cool days are the right time to enjoy it. There are two types of fish soup at the restaurant, the regular bowl costs 40,000 VND and the special bowl costs 55,000 VND. In addition, the shop also sells braised perch for 600,000 VND per kg and Doi village rice paper for 45,000 VND per kg.
Although the shop is on the street and has a large sign, the house numbers on Vo Chi Cong Street are not arranged in order, so first-time visitors will often have a bit of difficulty finding it.
Making a bowl of fish soup is quite difficult and takes a lot of time, but Mr. Long does not want to change the ingredients or any steps so that diners can enjoy the original flavor of Quynh Coi fish soup, a specialty. Thai Binh rice hometown.
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)