Not only is it the most famous tourist destination in the country with beautiful natural scenery, Phu Quoc is also considered the "capital" of cuisine, attracting visitors to experience a series of delicious dishes.
Among them is herring salad - one of the famous specialties of Ngoc Island that visitors should not miss if they have the opportunity to visit here.
According to locals, herring is available all year round in Phu Quoc, but the biggest herring season is from July to August of the lunar calendar, when the southwest wind blows inland. At this time, the fish is delicious, the meat is fatty and firm, the taste is sweet and fragrant, and the price is also "softer".
Here, herring is processed into many dishes and finished products such as canned herring, braised herring, sour herring soup, herring cakes, etc. However, the most delicious and popular dish is still herring salad.
Because it is enjoyed directly without any cooking process, herring salad is considered a "raw" specialty in Phu Quoc (Photo: Nguyen Thuy Tien).
Anh Quoc Viet - owner of a seafood restaurant in Duong Dong town, Phu Quoc said, to make delicious herring salad, the chef must go to the market early, selecting fresh batches of fish that have just been caught by fishermen from the sea.
The selected fish must also be of uniform size, about two fingertips, for convenient processing and to ensure quality.
After buying the herring, clean it, scrape off the scales, cut off the head, remove the intestines, remove the bones and then wash it with water. Phu Quoc people often wash herring with diluted salt water (or vinegar) to remove the fishy smell, making the dish more delicious and fragrant, so that everyone can enjoy it.
After being cleaned, the herring is filleted and sliced into thin, bite-sized pieces. In addition to the main ingredient of herring fillet, this salad is also prepared with other ingredients such as onions, shredded carrots, shallots, chili peppers and grated coconut, then seasoned to taste.
Next, mix the fish and ingredients with a special sour sauce made from vinegar grown with ripe guava. This sour vinegar helps the fish meat to be softer and more fragrant. Then add a little salt and sugar to the mixture to give the dish a mild sour and sweet taste.
In particular, the herring salad cannot lack the thick dipping sauce - considered the soul of the dish. To make a delicious dipping sauce, the locals always mix it from Phu Quoc fish sauce and season it with familiar spices such as lemon, sugar, garlic, chopped chili and indispensable crushed roasted peanuts.
When enjoying, diners take rice paper, arrange raw vegetables on top, add a piece of herring salad that has been well-seasoned, then roll the salad up and dip it in a thick, fragrant dipping sauce.
The soft and chewy rice paper blends with the refreshing taste of vegetables, the soft, fatty, sweet taste of herring and the aroma of shredded coconut and roasted peanuts, making diners remember it forever after just one bite.
Ms. Vu Huong (in Hanoi) said that she had enjoyed herring salad in Phu Quoc several times and really liked the taste of this dish. In early May, she even took advantage of her rare free time to take her family to the Pearl Island for 1 day and 1 night just because she was "craving" for the famous salad.
“I have ordered herring salad from some reputable food establishments in Hanoi, but the feeling is still not as fresh and delicious as enjoying this dish directly. Therefore, I do not hesitate to travel far, book a plane ticket to take my husband and children to Phu Quoc for one night just to eat “unlimited” the salad that all members love,” said Ms. Huong.
At some local restaurants, diners are served a glass of sweet, strong, and bitter blackberry wine when eating herring salad. This typical wine of the Pearl Island not only helps balance the flavor of the dish but is also considered a folk remedy to help relieve bone pain and digestive diseases.
In addition to enjoying the herring salad directly, visitors here can buy fresh herring or processed foods from this fish as gifts for friends and relatives such as herring fillets, canned fish, etc. at large seafood markets such as Duong Dong market, An Thoi market or Ham Ninh market.
Phan Dau
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