From a rustic dish, grilled snakehead fish has become a specialty dish that people in Southern Vietnam use to entertain guests from afar or during holidays and festivals. Snakehead fish is best at the beginning of the rainy season, when its belly is full of roe; or in January when the fish are mature and fat.
Snakehead fish is a delicious and mild-tasting fish, with few bones and high protein content compared to other freshwater fish. There are two types of snakehead fish: farmed snakehead fish are usually larger, weighing 1-2 kg; however, wild snakehead fish are the most preferred because they are caught naturally in rice paddies and fields, have sweet flesh, and are smaller, weighing from a few hundred grams to half a kilogram.
Grilled snakehead fish originated from the farming days of Southern Vietnamese farmers. After damming the canals and draining the ponds, the fish caught only needed to be washed, grilled over straw until cooked, and then enjoyed together right in the breezy fields.
From that simple dish, grilled snakehead fish quickly became a specialty that tourists visiting Southern Vietnam all want to try at least once. For this dish to be delicious, the snakehead fish must be from a wild environment. Because those fish, although not having much meat, are firm, sweet, and fragrant, not mushy and fishy like farmed snakehead fish.
However, nowadays, wild snakehead fish are very scarce, so people often use farmed fish to prepare this dish. In addition, the traditional method of grilling over straw is less common lately, with grilling over charcoal being more prevalent. Therefore, this has somewhat diminished the delicious flavor of a dish that has been immortalized in poetry and is associated with the childhood memories of many people.
How to prepare grilled snakehead fish
Preparing grilled snakehead fish is not difficult, but it does require skill and experience from the cook.
The fish must be alive and thoroughly cleaned. A fresh bamboo stick is threaded through the fish’s body, and the fish is then stuck headfirst into the ground. Using fresh bamboo prevents it from burning during grilling. Straw is piled up and covered, especially the head, as this is the hardest part to cook through. The griller must carefully monitor the amount of straw so that the fish is perfectly cooked when it has just burned out. If there isn’t enough fire, the fish will be undercooked; conversely, if there is too much, it will be dry and lose its moisture, making it unappetizing.
The grilled fish is arranged on banana leaves, with the burnt scales scraped off to reveal the golden-brown, fragrant, and incredibly appetizing cooked skin.
Vegetables served with grilled snakehead fish.
This dish should be enjoyed with a basket of fresh, crisp raw vegetables. Besides familiar vegetables like lettuce, basil, and mint, depending on the region or season, other vegetables such as toad leaf, fig leaf, wormwood leaf, cinnamon leaf, betel leaf, water hyacinth flower, and water lily flower may be added.
In addition, there are other ingredients such as cucumber, unripe banana, sour starfruit, bean sprouts, fresh rice noodles, rice paper… along with a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce or a bowl of rich, flavorful fermented fish sauce. And of course, a little bit of rice vermicelli with scallion oil or fresh rice noodles is indispensable.
A thin rice paper sheet is spread on the bottom, topped with vegetables, rice noodles, and a piece of tender white fish – enough to entice you. Depending on your preference, you can choose a sweet and sour dipping sauce or fermented fish sauce.
The rich, slightly spicy flavor of the dipping sauce, the refreshing, aromatic taste of the vegetables, and the tender, sweet-tasting cooked fish meat… all blend together to create an intoxicating sensation for the diner. As a famous dish, grilled snakehead fish is widely sold in the southern provinces of Vietnam. If you ever visit, don’t forget to seek out and enjoy this delicious and rustic dish.
Snakehead fish are at their best at the beginning of the rainy season, when their bellies are full of roe; or in January when the fish are mature and fat. Therefore, they taste absolutely delicious whether grilled over charcoal, straw fire, or any other method.
