Unique 'heaven-sent' specialty in the Northwest, tastier than shrimp

Anchovies are currently only exploited from the wild.

Locals call it the Ngan fish. This fish has a rather strange appearance, its whole body is white, clear as glass, and its size is only slightly larger than a bean sprout. A large fish can be as big as the tip of a chopstick.

On the body of the anchovy, the most prominent are its jet-black eyes that look like sesame seeds and a row of tiny scales in front of its tail fin. Their heads are pointed and have many teeth. The bones are soft, brittle, and cartilaginous.

Mr. Cong Luyen (in Luong Son district, Hoa Binh ) has many years of experience exploiting silver fish in the Da river and said that this type of fish does not live near the shore, but usually lives in places with clean water environments.

During the season (around April to July), anchovies swim in schools, but to catch them, people need experience.

“Catching silverfish requires meticulousness and skill because when they sense movement, they will scatter and disappear. Only when the water surface is calm will the fish gather into schools.

If people have experience, they can just use a net, a net, and quickly catch a few kilos of anchovies. If they want to be more sophisticated, they can use a boat and a specialized net to quickly catch a large quantity of anchovies,” he said.

According to Mr. Luyen, when fresh, the fish is soft like vermicelli, but when cooked, the meat becomes firm and delicious. Therefore, they are very popularly used as food.

Anchovies can be processed into many dishes, but the most delicious and popular are fish cakes or sour soup.

Because the food of the anchovy is microalgae, floating plankton and they can only live in nature, where there is clean water, so they are quite safe, the preparation is also simple. After buying the fish, just wash it, drain it and then process it as desired.

However, it should be noted that this type of fish has a soft body, so it should be cooked immediately after preparation to ensure it retains its fresh, delicious flavor.

Anchovies are easy to prepare and can be eaten whole.

With the popular sour fish soup, the cooking method and ingredients needed to prepare are also quite simple.

Thinly slice pineapple, stir-fry with tomatoes and shallots (or fried shallots), then add water and season like other familiar sour soup dishes.

When the water boils, put in the anchovies, add a little rice vinegar (or tamarind) to make it fragrant, simmer for 5-10 minutes until the soup is cooked, remove from heat, sprinkle chopped green onions and dill on top.

Hot sour fish soup is delicious with rice or vermicelli. The sour taste combined with the soft sweetness of the fish can be enjoyed by both adults and children.

Sour fish soup is a great dish to cool down in the summer.

"In some localities like my hometown, people combine sour fish soup with cassava leaves or sour bamboo shoots, which tastes rich and very fragrant," said Mr. Luyen.

Fish cake is also a popular dish, loved by many people. Depending on the culture of each place and the preferences of each person, people transform fish cake into many versions.

Among them, the simplest dish is fish cake with spoon leaves, while more elaborate ones include fish cake with betel leaves, fish cake with tangerine peel (similar to fish cake), fish cake with rice paper (like fried spring rolls).

Simple preparation of fish cake with dill

In addition to the above dishes, people also create many other unique dishes from anchovies, meeting diverse culinary needs such as anchovies with eggs, crispy fried anchovies, anchovy noodles...

Mr. Luyen shared that the unique appearance and taste of the fish bring a new feeling to people when eating it. This type of fish has firm meat, crispy bones, and a naturally sweet and fragrant taste.

In his personal opinion, anchovies are as delicious as other seafood, even better than shrimp, and the price is equally high.

Many gourmets say that anchovies are more delicious and unique than shrimp and crab, so the high price still attracts customers to enjoy them.

In the localities where the Da River flows through, people catch and sell silverfish on the spot for about 150,000-200,000 VND/kg. When transported to the lowlands, to the capital or by plane to the South, this type of fish costs 280,000-300,000 VND/kg.

In recent years, anchovies have become more widely known. People consider them a “heaven-sent” delicacy, available only once a year, so despite the high price, they still seek them out.

Some people even collect a few kilos at a time, bring them home, clean them, and freeze them to preserve them longer, and can be used for many months.

HQ (according to Vietnamnet)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/dac-san-troi-cho-doc-la-o-tay-bac-an-ngon-hon-tom-410607.html