Dong Nai has two famous raft fishing villages: Tan Mai raft fishing village and La Nga raft fishing village on La River Nga Dinh Quan also has Tan Mai raft fishing village right in Bien Hoa city.
From Tam Hiep roundabout, go about 2 km to Tan Mai ward headquarters. Follow an alley About 1 kilometer across a bridge and then about 200 meters further you will see many fish salad shops opening close together; On the river there are about 600 fish rafts of hundreds of households along the Dong Nai River in three wards of Tan Mai Tam Hiep Thong Nhat.
The fishermen here process a lot of fish. fish dishes, but the most famous is still fish salad. The section of Dong Nai river mentioned above is Tan Mai on one side and Cu Lao Pho on the other, so fish salad is available both in Tan Mai and Cu Lao Pho. But customers from far away are still used to calling it “Tan Mai fish salad” because close to Tan Mai are fish salad shops that are always bustling with customers.
The carp that makes Tan Mai fish salad is carefully selected to produce smooth, sweet meat
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Mr. Nguyen Quoc Trung, owner of Dong Nai fish salad restaurant (Tan Mai Quarter 6), shared that: Fish salad actually does not come from Dong Nai, but when prepared, it combines very well. The skillful and selective way of preparing fish salad of Western fishermen and the meticulousness of fishermen in the Red River Delta has created a very delicious and unforgettable dish with the unique characteristics of Dong Nai fishermen. Many fish salad restaurants in Tan Mai and Cu Lao Pho have opened, but each restaurant has a different delicious taste and the secret lies in the pot of dipping sauce that is always simmering on a low fire.
The bigger the red tilapia used in salad, the sweeter the meat
The fish used for the salad is red giant carp… If you want to choose carp to make a delicious salad, you must choose fish weighing no more than 2kg and not smaller than 1kg. Too big, dry meat, not smooth meat, too small, mushy meat. As for red tilapia and giant catfish, the bigger they are, the sweeter their meat is.
Fish from the river that has just been caught and still swinging its tail into the water is cleaned and the scales removed. The skilled chef quickly used a sharp knife to make a line along the spine from the tail to the gills, turning the meat cheeks outward. You have to cut the fish very carefully and evenly so that the fish meat will be smooth, not broken, and not mixed with broken bones. Then use absorbent paper to dry both sides of the fish meat to absorb all the slime and fishy smell. When the fish meat is dry and white, slice it into small pieces about 2cm and mix with lemongrass and galangal. These two hot spices will brown the fish meat before mixing it with the mushrooms.
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Each piece of fish is covered with a yellow layer that evokes the aroma of spices, next to the green color of the accompanying plate of vegetables including nearly two dozen types such as: Polyscias fruticosa, fig leaves, silk buds, silk shoots. toadstool, mango buds, marjoram, perilla, basil, mint, young lotus leaves, apricot leaf lettuce, perilla, coriander fish… These are “medicinal” vegetables that are effective in treating pain, indigestion, and headaches. or nervous tension.
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In a time when vegetables are more valuable than meat and fish, each Tan Mai fish salad roll mixed with twenty types of vegetables is extremely attractive.
But with just that, fish salad has not become… Tan Mai fish salad. The unique feature that Mr. Trung, the owner of Dong Nai fish salad restaurant, said is in the dipping sauce. His grandfather, Mr. Nguyen Kim Tuyen, opened a fish salad restaurant for 30 years. Mr. Tuyen’s fish salad is very special and attracts customers far and wide, even in the surrounding areas of Dong Nai province. Mr. Tuyen is now nearly 70 years old and has passed his profession on to his two sons, Trung and Hieu. The two brothers opened two different restaurants but shared the same sauce recipe, so they were very crowded.
Fish salad enjoyed with black sesame rice dumplings is just right
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One free day, you go to Tan Mai to order a plate of fish salad and a pot of fish porridge in the middle of a vast river, a small boat anchored under the bridge of The fish rafts are long and from this side, Tan Mai looks at Cu Lao Pho, shaped like a tilted bell, surrounded by the Rach Cat River and the Dong Nai River on the other side in the bright afternoon light. That space and that scene add a cool breeze that seems to add flavor to the fish salad, which is already rich in flavor: the sweetness of the fish, the subtle aroma of mushrooms and spices to the spiciness of onions, chili and lemongrass; The strong bitterness of vegetables… there’s nothing better than that.
I suddenly remembered that one time I was eating fish salad with biology doctor Thai Xuan Du in Tan Mai, he said fish salad Tan Mai brings together all the “four deliciousnesses”: “Fresh fish, green vegetables, rich dipping sauce blending with charming scenery… One of the happiness of human life is to know how to eat delicious food and enjoy the goodness in the feeling of eating.” Feeling comfortable, peaceful and assured. Tan Mai fish salad is enough for this!”.
V.H
* Excerpted from the series “Journey to find traditional rustic dishes of three regions” exclusively for the program Golden Spoon 2014
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