How to stir flour to eat with grilled snakehead fish, in the past poor family, now rich people consider it a Binh Dinh specialty?

About 40 years ago, the stir-fried flour dish often appeared in breakfast meals of families in the poor countryside of Binh Dinh. But now, this rustic dish with grilled snakehead fish has become a famous specialty of the land of Nau.

At the end of April, after taking Mr. Tsubame Kazuhiko, a Japanese businessman, to Binh Dinh to visit and learn about investment opportunities, I took him to the Binh Dinh Provincial Party Committee Guest House on Tran Phu Street, Quy Nhon City to enjoy the specialties.

Plates of food made from fresh seafood caught in Binh Dinh waters were brought to the table one by one.

However, none of the dishes impressed the Japanese guest, because he had traveled to many places and often enjoyed these dishes.

When the plate of stir-fried flour appeared with a bowl of hot grilled snakehead fish sauce, he raised his thumb, implying "this dish is number one" and ate 3 bowls in one go.

The colleagues who accompanied Mr. Kazuhiko that day came from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi , and everyone praised it when they enjoyed this dish for the first time.

They did not expect that this specialty was once a popular dish in the land of Nau Binh Dinh. At that time, noodles were very cheap, each kilo costing less than an ice cream cone. Therefore, usually only poor families ate this for breakfast.

The first tapioca flour at that time was made from fresh cassava. First, the cassava was peeled and ground into powder. Next, the flour was rubbed on a mesh or thick cloth, the powder settled in a basin overnight and was called first tapioca flour.

The dish of flour mixed with fish sauce and grilled snakehead fish has become one of the delicious specialties of Binh Dinh.

Before processing, the first flour is mixed with just enough water, not too thin and not too thick. The pan must be ready and a little oil added to prevent sticking to the bottom.

Once the oil is boiling, pour in the flour, simmer and stir constantly. The name "stir-fry" comes from this action.

The maker must be skillful and quick in stirring the dough so that every part is cooked evenly. The dough becomes clear as it cooks, looking like glue.

The stir-fried flour dipping sauce back then was simply made from chili, crushed garlic with good fish sauce or shrimp paste. The first stir-fried flour was left in the hot pan, then chopsticks were used to dip it in the fish sauce and breakfast was complete.

Nowadays, the stir-fried flour dish is made from dry ground wheat flour and is varied by many people, eaten with shrimp, meat, braised fish, beef offal, pork offal...

However, the best is still dipping fish sauce with chili and garlic mixed with grilled snakehead fish or perch. Although it is a specialty, anyone can enjoy this dish at restaurants and eateries in Binh Dinh because the price is only a few tens of thousands of VND for a serving.

Source: https://danviet.vn/bot-mi-khuay-kieu-gi-ma-an-voi-ca-loc-nuong-xua-nha-ngheo-nay-dai-gia-cho-la-dac-san-binh-dinh-20250221185143223.htm