Taste of Homeland: Rustic and Deep Braised Catfish

Long tong fish! The name evokes the image of being small, insignificant, insignificant, lonely, youngest, and rustic. With a tiny body and tail, the "long tong" family is also naive and innocent. People built banks, built up rocks and soil at both ends of a stream, and then cheered and bailed out the water, but the school of fish did not realize the danger at all, still foolishly swimming carefree and leisurely until they were neatly placed in a basket.

Hương vị quê hương: Cá lòng tong kho rim mộc mạc, đằm sâu - Ảnh 1. — Braised fish

The lunch at your house in the highlands of Quang Ngai featured a fragrant and attractive braised fish dish. The colors on the surface of the fish pan were beautiful... like a painting: The fish were golden yellow, shiny with red and green peppers scattered. Not seeing my eyes eagerly looking at the fish pan that had just been brought down to the stove, you kept scratching your head and ears, saying that you lived in a place full of shrimp, crab, fish and squid. Now that you are in the mountains, my husband and I are serving this simple fish dish, it's really embarrassing. Having known each other for a long time, I know your personality. This guy is very mischievous. He said that, but in his heart he thought, "I know very well that the dish you look forward to every time you visit my house is fish." Just look at his eyes, they were sparkling with sarcasm towards the Sa Huynh guest, me.

You couldn't hide your pride: "Of all the hundreds of river and stream fish, the long tong is considered one of the cleanest and cleanest fish." You prove it: Wherever the water is murky, there are almost no long tong fish. The water must be clear, the algae must be clean, and the plankton - the fish's food - must be pure so that the long tong fish can register for permanent residence, swim freely, and give birth to children and grandchildren.

Braised fish with bamboo shoots has a rustic yet deep flavor, a gentle, slow, quiet, fragile aroma. Your wife said that this fish braised with chili pepper is a dish that young people in the highlands often choose to enjoy together in the afternoon. They like to break crispy rice paper and eat it with fish instead of rice. My family especially loves fish with bamboo shoots and a bowl of wild vegetable soup to cool down on hot days.

According to her, to have a pan of fish with the right aroma and flavor, before putting it on the stove, you need to gently and evenly mix the pork fat, sugar, good fish sauce, seasoning powder, a little pepper, and a few chopped shallots. Fish is fragile, so when stewing, remember to keep the heat gentle and low so that the spices can slowly penetrate the fish. When the surface of the pan is still a thin layer of bubbling foam, sprinkle in the chili peppers. Listen, if there is a strong aroma, take the pan off the stove, because that smell signals that the fish layer at the bottom is about to burn.

Eat a bite of rice with some soft braised fish, and smell the combination of sweet, salty, and fragrant flavors filling your tongue. A discerning person will smell the clean, fresh smell of freshwater fish. It could be the smell of forest leaves, the rustic, pure scent of wild flowers that the fish carries with it as it flows through the river or stream.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/huong-vi-que-huong-ca-long-tong-kho-rim-moc-mac-dam-sau-185250601201229212.htm