Binh Dinh delicacies: Fragrant grilled pomfret fish

Pomfret, the name sounds rustic, but for gourmets it is a gift from nature that makes people close their eyes to enjoy each piece of sweet, fatty white meat with rich ocean flavor.

De Gi Fish

The rabbitfish is a flat-bodied catfish with a gray-brown coat dotted with white spots like streaks of sunlight. This fish lives in many lagoons and estuaries along the Central region.

Grilled pomfret

PHOTO: PHUOC TINH

In De Gi lagoon (Cat Khanh town, Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh), where fresh and salt water converge, the fish has a very unique flavor, more pure and fragrant. The fish here is as big as an adult's hand, weighs from 300 - 800 grams, with white, firm meat, but still retains its natural softness.

Rabbitfish live in schools, moving in groups of several dozen to hundreds, mainly hiding in seaweed and seagrass beds in brackish water. De Gi fishermen often fish for rabbitfish with a hand pole, a seemingly simple tool but a way to keep the fish fresh. During peak season, a skilled fisherman can catch hundreds of fish in just one morning.

Rabbitfish live in schools, hiding in seaweed and seagrass beds in the brackish water of De Gi lagoon.

PHOTO: PHUOC TINH

From the silver pomfret, the De Gi people make many delicious dishes. A country meal can warm the heart with a pot of silver pomfret soup cooked with young tamarind leaves, a few golden slices of pineapple, or a plate of silver pomfret braised in pure fish sauce, the fish meat is soaked and savory. Steamed silver pomfret with ginger, crispy fried silver pomfret served with raw vegetables and hand-pounded garlic and chili fish sauce, each dish attracts diners.

Naked but sexy

But the most unique and memorable is still grilled pomfret, a dish that the De Gi people call "a rustic but noble dish". Without much need for seasoning, without being fussy in presentation, grilled pomfret retains the rusticity in every piece of meat.

Fresh pomfret, after cleaning, leave the fish whole and use a knife to make a few light cuts on the back, then place it on the grill. The charcoal must be wood charcoal, the kind that is fiery but not smoky, so that the fish is cooked evenly from the inside out. After a while , the fish skin begins to burn, giving off a delicious aroma. The smell of grilled pomfret is gentle, not strong, not fishy. That aroma gradually permeates the sense of smell, recalling dear memories.

Rabbitfish live in De Gi lagoon, where fresh and salt water converge, so it has a very unique flavor.

PHOTO: DUNG NHAN

When the fish is just cooked, use chopsticks to separate each piece of white, moist and soft meat. Gently dip it in the bowl of crushed salt, lime and chili, a typical dipping sauce of Binh Dinh people, the fish melts on the tip of the tongue, leaving a sweet aftertaste mixed with salty and slightly spicy taste. What could be more wonderful than clinking glasses with friends on a windy afternoon and enjoying this dish?

Someone once said that the deliciousness of grilled pomfret fish does not lie in the ingredients or the way it is cooked, but in the emotions. It is a dish that makes people far from home suddenly choke up, and those who have visited De Gi once long to return. Because only there, by the red fire, can one fully enjoy a "naked" but attractive grilled fish.

Grilled pomfret is a nostalgic dish for many people from the Central region living far from home.

PHOTO: IHAY

On a summer afternoon, in the middle of a dusty city, suddenly hearing someone mention the words "dia fish", my heart is filled with a deep craving. I crave the smell of burnt fish, the sound of fish fat crackling on the coals, a bowl of hand-pounded chili salt and most of all, I crave a salty memory of my childhood by De Gi lagoon.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mon-ngon-binh-dinh-thom-phuc-ca-dia-nuong-moi-185250507092353574.htm