1. How is Mai fish salad prepared?
Mai fish is a very popular sea fish in Mui Ne, Phan Thiet. The fish has a small shape, a transparent body with sparkling silver scales, very similar to an anchovy. Mai fish meat is chewy, crispy, not fishy, very suitable for processing into rare dishes such as hot pot, fish salad. In addition, in daily meals you can also find dishes made from Mai fish such as sour soup with tamarind leaves, fish braised with pepper, fried fish rolled in batter... No matter what the dish is, Mai fish is still among the best of all types. Sea fish for Phan Thiet people and tourists from all over.
Mai fish's body is small and transparent like anchovies but thinner
To have the coolest and most delicious Mai fish salad, you must first choose the freshest Mai fish, preferably those that have just been brought back from the ship and are still jumping. Mai fish for salad should choose medium sized fish, about 2 fingers is standard. After being thoroughly prepared by scaling, deboning, and slicing, the Mai fish is blanched with lemon or vinegar, marinated with spices, and ginger can be used to make the fish meat more delicious.
It can be said that the soul of all salads in general is the salad dressing. To have a delicious salad dish worthy of Mui Ne tourist specialties, the salad dressing must be prepared with an exact formula according to the specific ratio of sugar - garlic - chili - fish sauce - lemon. After the fish absorbs the spices and sauce, mix it with the salad ingredients: laksa leaves, basil, herbs, green onions, onions, chili peppers, roasted peanuts, roasted sesame and fried onions.
Finished plate of Mai fish salad
The special thing about this dish is that the fish is not cooked but is cooked with the acidity of lemon, this method is called "squeezing the lemon". Mai fish with lemon retains the toughness, crispiness, and freshness of the fish. Furthermore, lemon even helps make the fish crispier, with a very refreshing, slightly sour taste. Tourists should not worry about uncooked fish having a fishy smell that is difficult to eat. In fact, Mai fish does not have blood so it does not have a fishy smell. Furthermore, the scent of lemon eliminates all other bad odors from the fish. .
The secret to making the famous delicious Mai fish salad - one of Mui Ne's tourist specialties is probably the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce eaten with Mai fish salad is quite elaborately made by Phan Thiet people. Ingredients for the dipping sauce include sour tamarind cooking water, granulated sugar, ripe bananas, garlic, chili, pure anchovy fish sauce, roasted sesame, creating a thick orange-yellow dipping sauce mixture that is both sour and sweet. Sweet and lightly fragrant, the scent of banana and tamarind is very stimulating to the taste buds.
The dipping sauce is rich and unmistakable
2. How and where to eat Mai fish salad?
There are many ways to enjoy Mai fish salad. It can be eaten with crispy fragrant grilled sesame rice paper or shrimp crackers or rolled with thin rice paper with raw vegetables, sour star fruit, banana and cucumber. No matter how you eat it, Mai fish salad exudes an irresistible deliciousness and a rich, seductive flavor typical of Mui Ne. Especially the crunchy, sour, salty taste of the fish combined with the cool, crispy vegetables of roasted peanuts and fried onions, dipped in a bowl of attractive, viscous dipping sauce fragrant with the scent of tamarind. Those flavors are sure to taste once and you will remember them forever, wanting to come back to eat them again and again.
Mai fish salad is often eaten with rice paper
Tourists traveling to Mui Ne can enjoy Mai fish salad at delicious restaurants and eateries in Phan Thiet. There are famous restaurants in the Department of Health area right near Phan Thiet Station or seafood restaurants along the Ca Ty river, on routes such as Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Dinh Chieu... In particular, this dish is very popular with drinkers because The flavor is very appealing to the taste buds, so pubs cannot lack Mai fish salad on their menu.
In the evening, walking along the Ca Ty river, stopping by a roadside seafood restaurant, visitors can order a plate of Mai fish salad with grilled rice paper along with a few other specialties such as snail salad, sticky fish. grease, grilled squid teeth... to fully enjoy the salty flavor of this sunny and windy Central Coast region.
Little Mui Ne Cottages has just introduced to visitors a few things about a famous Phan Thiet specialty - Mai fish salad. Hopefully the article is useful and gives visitors a new experience when traveling to Mui Ne - Phan Thiet.