Taste of home: Mixed shrimp paste

Quick-salted shrimp paste (also known as crushed shrimp paste) can make passersby hesitate in their tracks with its intoxicating aroma.

Then there's shrimp paste, with a little chili and garlic added, and with rice paper, fresh noodles, even banh beo and banh xeo, there's just too much to eat! I remember, not only the village kids, but adults are still addicted to crispy rice paper drizzled with shrimp paste, reheated over charcoal fire, and then topped with a little scallion oil, currently priced at 2,000 dong a piece. It's salty, sweet, and fragrant all at once; you can eat until your stomach is full and your mouth is still smacking.

That's not all the delicious dishes that shrimp paste brings, thanks to the skillful hands of the housewives in the fishing village. I just want to mention the mixed shrimp paste, which many people in this village (in Sa Huynh, Quang Ngai ) consider an "indispensable" dish. This rustic dish, which even wealthy families can't resist, has several "golden hours" to enjoy. It's eaten with rice paper in the mid-afternoon heat to replenish energy for the remaining hours of work. It's also eaten near the end of the day by groups of fishermen, with a touch of spiciness, before heading out to sea for "dark fishing" (casting nets or fishing at dusk). In addition, mixed shrimp paste is also eaten with rice during main meals for a lighter meal. Although it's called "eaten with rice," the whole family eats the mixed shrimp paste, so there's often leftover rice.

Just three ingredients – roasted pork floss, rice noodles, and lettuce – make for an irresistible dish.

The young people in my village are all "high school" students, like junior or senior high school students. They've given the mixed pork floss dish a very musical name: a "mashup." Pork floss, noodles, and lettuce are combined like... a section of one song following another... to create a catchy and novel melody. In the combination of pork floss, noodles, and lettuce, each ingredient seems incompatible, but they blend together to create a complete dish.

Shrimp from the sea, noodles made from cassava, and lettuce... from the garden. Served together with a little seasoning of fish sauce, sugar, chili, and garlic, this shrimp salad is incredibly addictive! The shrimp are roasted until golden brown and slightly crispy, giving them a wonderful aroma. The shrimp cling to each strand of noodle and each leaf of lettuce. Each ingredient contributes its own unique flavor, creating a harmonious blend. The chewy noodles, in particular, play a role in prolonging the chewing time, allowing the crisp sweetness of the shrimp and the humble, rustic aroma of the lettuce to slowly release their rich flavors.

Enjoying mixed pork floss is incomplete without crispy grilled rice paper. Picking up a piece of mixed pork floss and placing it on a piece of rice paper, the satisfying crunch of the dish is multiplied. The sound of eating is real. The crisp cracking sound of the rice paper creates a strangely refreshing and joyful feeling. Perhaps that's why most Central Vietnamese dishes, not just mixed pork floss, are served with rice paper or wheat flour rice paper.

Various types of shrimp paste, from fresh to dried to shriveled, are still being processed daily by the fishermen to ensure a ready supply for the coming months. Therefore, dishes like vermicelli soup with shrimp paste, dipping sauce for rice cakes, savory pancakes, broth for fresh vermicelli, and dipping sauce for raw vegetables will never be without shrimp paste.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/huong-vi-que-huong-ruoc-tron-18524041619481918.htm