(NLDO)- Fish spring rolls are a unique dish that cannot be missed during Tet holidays or weddings of the Thai people in the West of Thanh Hoa.
For the Thai people in Thanh Hoa, one of the important tasks before Tet is to make sour and salted fish (also known as fish rolls), one of the dishes used in the ancestral worship ceremony during Tet. Therefore, before Tet, people have started to prepare the ingredients to make this unique dish.
Fish spring rolls, a unique dish of the Thai people in the West of Thanh Hoa
The locals here do not know when fish spring rolls first appeared, they only know that they have existed since ancient times, passed down from their ancestors. This is a must-have dish during Tet and weddings.
Mr. Vi Van Niem (born in 1961; residing in Son Lu town, Quan Son district) said that every December of the lunar calendar, his family prepares fish spring rolls to celebrate Tet. "I don't know when this dish started, but since I grew up, I have seen it on the Tet meal tray. It was passed down from my father to my grandfather," Mr. Niem shared.
In the past, fish used to make nem was mainly made from stream fish, but today, this dish is made mainly from grass carp.
According to Mr. Niem, to make this dish, the main ingredient is fish. In the past, Thai people often caught mai mai (a type of natural fish that lives in rivers and streams). This type of fish has a lot of meat and is delicious. However, in recent years, this type of fish has been depleted, so people have switched to using grass carp to make fish spring rolls.
"In Thai, fish rolls are called "xum luong", which means a sour dish. Every year, about ten days before Tet, families quickly prepare ingredients and utensils to pickle fish, so that on Tet day, the fish rolls are ripe enough to offer to their ancestors. This is a traditional dish, indispensable during Tet for our people" - Mr. Niem said.
After the fish is cleaned, slice it thinly and drain.
This unique dish not only appears on the Thai people's Tet meal tray, but it is also indispensable in weddings. According to the elders, before going to the bride's house to propose marriage, the groom's family must make fish spring rolls and bring them to the bride's house, along with other offerings to worship the ancestors. If this dish is missing, the following rituals will not be carried out.
Regarding how to make this dish, according to Mr. Niem, first you have to choose fresh, delicious fish with lots of meat. The fish is then filtered to remove the meat, cut into small slices, marinated with coarse salt and then drained for about 4-5 hours.
The fish is then mixed with the...
... then put in jars or bamboo tubes for about 7-10 days to ferment the fish.
The fish will then be mixed with roasted, ground rice bran (rice bran is usually made from sticky rice or corn and will be very delicious). Rice bran has the effect of absorbing moisture in the fish meat, also making it fragrant, fermenting and keeping the fish from spoiling. After mixing the rice bran evenly, the fish will be put into bamboo tubes or plastic boxes to ferment.
"The time for the fish to ferment depends on the weather. After 7 to 10 days, the fish will be cooked and ready to eat. When enjoying fish spring rolls, you need to prepare accompanying vegetables such as fig leaves, ginseng... and dip them in chili sauce or fish sauce," said Mr. Niem.
When the fish is fermented enough, the fish spring rolls can be enjoyed.
For the Thai people in Quan Son, fish spring rolls are not only a ritual, custom, and unique cultural feature, but also a unique dish, suitable for spring days. Because fish spring rolls are cool when eaten, not boring, have a slightly sour taste mixed with sweetness, and especially the fish does not have a fishy smell.
Although it is a delicious and traditional dish of the people, nowadays, there are very few people who still regularly make fish spring rolls. There are only a few people who regularly make and preserve this delicious dish, including Mr. Vi Van Niem. "Seeing that I make delicious fish spring rolls, my friends and relatives, even in the lowlands, also ask me to make them. Currently, I only make them for food, not for business purposes," said Mr. Niem.
Fish spring rolls can be eaten with fig leaves, ginseng, herbs... dipped in fish sauce to create a very distinctive flavor of this unique dish.
Building local brands
According to Mr. Niem, this is a delicious, rustic dish of the ethnic people, it is indispensable in holidays, Tet, weddings. Therefore, he also wants to build and develop this dish to become a specialty of the Thai ethnic people here.
According to the representative of the People's Committee of Quan Son district, the fish spring roll has existed and been associated with the Thai ethnic people here for generations, and is a delicious dish that is highly appreciated by many people. Quan Son is a locality with many attractive tourist destinations and experiences such as Bo Cung cave, Ngam village, etc., which annually welcome a large number of tourists to visit and explore. Therefore, in the future, the locality is interested in building and developing the fish spring roll into a specialty dish so that visitors can enjoy the dish or buy it as a gift every time they come to Quan Son.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/doc-la-mon-nem-ca-o-mien-tay-xu-thanh-19625012823100964.htm
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