Grilled catfish | QUANG NAM ONLINE NEWSPAPER

Early summer, coming to Hoi An beach to enjoy delicious dishes made from catfish makes you even more attached to this land.

In May and June, the season for grilled catfish is here. Fish stalls in Hoi An's sea markets are filled with catfish. The coastal restaurants are bustling with fire, filled with the sweet, fragrant aroma of grilled catfish...

The pipefish has a round, long body like a tube, with pink-red skin that is not as smooth as eels or moray eels. Adults can grow up to a meter long and weigh around a kilo.

Tourists who enjoy grilled catfish for the first time are full of praise for its deliciousness with many "levels": "So delicious", "so delicious"... For me, a person from the coastal region of Hoi An, besides the deliciousness that tourists are exclaiming about, there must be another "deliciousness". That is the feeling of pride in the specialty of my hometown.

In season, there are many catfish so the price is also reasonable, about 150 - 180,000 VND/kg. That is enough for 4 - 5 people to "meet in a group". The first rule is that the fish must be fresh, cleaned, and drained. Catfish can be prepared by cooking hot pot, deep-frying, making porridge... Grilling catfish on a charcoal stove is considered the best.

If you want to feel the natural deliciousness of each piece of fish, grill it “whole”. Just leave the fish whole and grill it on a charcoal stove. While grilling, brush a little cooking oil on the surface of the fish to prevent it from burning and drying out. The charcoal fire must be red enough for the heat to “penetrate” deep into the fish, cooking both inside and out.

Occasionally turn the grill to cook the fish evenly. When the fish turns golden brown and the aroma wafts up, the fish is cooked. Besides dipping it with salt, chili, and cucumber, grilled catfish is also wrapped in rice paper with spicy mustard greens, herbs, and a bowl of pure chili fish sauce.

Making a living. Photo: Nguyen Dien Ngoc — Making a living. Photo: NGUYEN DIEN NGOC

To change the taste, you can cut the fish into 4-5 pieces for easy grilling. Marinate the fish with chopped onion, garlic, turmeric, pepper, chili (especially green chili will make the fish meat fragrant), fish sauce, salt, and cooking oil for about half an hour.

To fix the problem of dry fish meat, when the fish is almost done, add a little cooking oil to the fish marinade, then put this marinade on the grilled fish. Many people also meticulously stuff a little garlic and turmeric into the belly of the fish. Continue to put the grill on the stove to grill the fish. It is hard to resist the aroma when the fish is just cooked.

The steaming plate of mackerel has a harmonious color and the smell is enough to make you feel delicious. Each fish is hot, tear it into pieces with your hands, and dip it lightly in the bowl of salt and chili. It is so delicious that it is hard to describe.

Hoi An people are no stranger to this dish but still can't stop praising it. Especially visitors from far away who come to visit Cua Dai beach in the summer months cannot help but "stumble" upon the aroma of grilled catfish. Their feet have left but their hearts are still "dizzy" with the sweet, fatty, salty, delicious and rich taste of the sea.

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