Taste of Hometown: Crispy Fried Hairtail, No Bones Left

The simplest way to cook mackerel is to simmer it with some onion, coriander and a few slices of chili, pour it into a bowl of white rice, stir-fry it, pick up a piece and dip it in fish sauce and chili until it's salty enough to tickle your tongue, it's delicious.

I attended a hairtail fish party with a group of students who were my former students. There were several dishes on the table, but all the votes were for fried hairtail fish. That's right. If the braised hairtail fish is a quick dish that is so delicious that you can't help but click your tongue, then fried hairtail fish that is carefully and meticulously prepared is of course ten times more delicious.

The fish feast was set up under a yellow bougainvillea trellis, one of the most beautiful in the village, so the "romanticism" was very high. Truly students! They rushed in, one cleaned the fish, one prepared the spices, one turned on the oil stove... In a flash, I heard the sound of the fish "sizzling" in the pan. And then, in a flash, each slice of golden fish was served on a plate.

Crispy fried mackerel

PHOTO: TRAN CAO DUYEN

In Sa Huynh ( Quang Ngai ), my hometown, the fish sauce used to dip vegetables, fish, boiled meat... all must be fish sauce filtered by hand from the anchovy season of the previous year. The old people often say, "mam luu cuu". This fish sauce is just right, if it sticks to the lips, it will swell for an hour. The fish sauce has no garlic, just pour it onto a plate and slice a few chili peppers and it's done. I had the "advantage" of being my old teacher, so I volunteered to choose to make fish sauce. They laughed out loud and agreed immediately. One of them flattered: "In our village, the teacher is famous for writing poems, so the fish sauce must be... delicious, it's sure to hurt your tongue".

The afternoon sun is golden. The fried hairtail is golden and crispy. The rice paper is golden and fragrant over the charcoal fire, the banquet table is next to the trellis of bright yellow flowers. The fried hairtail is worthy of being enjoyed in such a "poetic" space.

The meat of the mackerel is mildly fragrant, sweet and soft, combined with the subtle, crunchy texture of the fish skin, creating a delicious taste that makes you "speechless". The back of the fish is really crispy... really, it makes a crackling sound. The belly of the fish is not crispy but in return it is rich and fatty. Dip the fish lightly into the "teacher's" sauce and chew gently, everyone praises it. The rice paper "brother" is also happy, so he makes a crispy and unpretentious sound.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/huong-vi-que-huong-ca-ho-chien-gion-hong-con-cai-xuong-18525040717503758.htm