Delicious dishes from Cua Lo

(Baognhean) - It's not just the clear blue sea and fine white sand, not just the friendly smiles of the local people, but also the delicious fresh dishes that have helped Cua Lo attract tourists. These include fresh squid, fried squid, grilled squid, seven-course fish dishes, fried prawns with garlic and chili, and clam porridge glistening with shallots and golden fried onions…

Seven dishes of fish

The grouper fish is raised in the Cua Lo sea area. Through the hands of chefs, this type of fish is transformed into seven attractive dishes such as fish salad, steamed fish with lemongrass, stir-fried fish offal, fish hotpot, fish porridge, fried fish fins, and crispy fried fish skin. We sat down at the table, and the fish salad was brought out first. Thinly sliced, evenly shaped pieces of grouper fish, with a pale pinkish hue, lay spoon-shaped on the plate. This is a raw dish, so the quality of the fresh fish is paramount. The essential ingredients for the salad include: young mango leaves, young Barringtonia leaves, and three-colored fig leaves. Pick up a thinly sliced ​​piece of grouper fish, dip it into a bowl of pure lemon juice for a few seconds to partially cook the fish, then dip it in a mixture of mustard and soy sauce. At this point, the fish has turned a reddish-brown color. Next, wrap the fish in layers of young mango leaves, Barringtonia leaves, and various other aromatic herbs, then dip it in a special fish sauce before eating.

Next up is the crispy fried fish skin. The fish skin, after frying, turns a golden brown, curling up nicely when dipped in delicious Cua Lo fish sauce. When you bite into it, the crispy, chewy, and fragrant fish skin is truly irresistible. Then comes steamed fish, grilled fish, stir-fried fish offal with wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms... and finally, the sweet and rich fish porridge. A delicious bowl of fish porridge, in addition to the minced fish meat, is also cooked using the fish steaming liquid. Like clam porridge and other fish porridges, fish porridge is served with golden fried shallots and herbs. Fish porridge is always served with a bowl of the best pure fish sauce on the side, allowing diners to season to their taste.

Preparing clam porridge.

While eating, my friend mentioned that Cua Lo has long been raising grouper fish on Ngu Island, in cages invested in by the North Central Vietnam Institute of Aquaculture. Currently, there are around 30 cages, with the smallest fish weighing no less than 30 kilograms. In the near future, the town plans to expand grouper farming and move it to the Mat Island area or Hai Thinh beach, Nghi Thiet.

Clam porridge

I've had the chance to travel to many places and enjoy clam porridge from various regions, but Cua Lo clam porridge has a distinct, rich flavor that's hard to mistake for clam porridge anywhere else. It's the sweet taste of the clams, the aroma of fresh rice, and the fragrant shallots that blend together perfectly. A bowl of clam porridge is considered the most rustic dish in this coastal region; almost every eatery serves it, but making it truly delicious is no easy feat.

During a trip to Cua Lo, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman from the coastal town who makes the famous clam porridge in Nghi Hai. She told me more about the type of clam, how to choose them, and the secret to making delicious clam porridge. I learned that the best clams are the reddish-brown honey clams. These are usually harvested from the coastal beaches; they have large, sweet meat. To make the signature Cua Lo clam porridge, the chef must buy these honey clams. The clams must be soaked and washed thoroughly to remove all the sand. The preparation of the clams also requires the right technique: using a small knife to pry open the clams to extract the broth while they are still fresh. After separating the broth and meat, the clam meat must be cleaned and any impurities removed. The clam meat is then marinated with spices, and a generous amount of chopped shallots are added to a pan with oil over high heat to stir-fry the clams for 5 minutes. The rice used for the clam porridge must be sticky rice, washed thoroughly, drained, and boiled with the clam broth. The fire used to cook the porridge isn't too strong. Once the rice is cooked, the clams aren't added yet; they're only stir-fried with shallots when the customer is ready to eat. Clam porridge tastes best when eaten immediately. The reason why the clam porridge in Cua Lo is so fragrant and delicious is not only because of the high-quality clams, but also because of the secret seasoning. Clam porridge is always served with ingredients like perilla leaves, fresh onions, and plenty of golden-fried shallots. And, most importantly, a bowl of traditional Cua Hoi fish sauce is indispensable, allowing customers to season to their liking.

Text and photos:Thu Huong