Dried striped fish, a local specialty

In the past, in the Upper U Minh region, there were a lot of striped snakehead fish. At that time, the rustic fish dish only needed to be fried until golden brown, braised with salt, or dried to save for the lean season. Nowadays, dried striped snakehead fish has become a famous specialty, chosen by many people as a gift during holidays and Tet.

The old memories are still vivid in the stories of the old people, when this land was still wild and had many mosquitoes, to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, people would bring whole basins of fish under mosquito nets, and chat animatedly while working. The scene of sitting and separating scales and salting fish with laughter and chatter still warms the hearts of many people when they remember it.

Of all the delicious dishes made from striped snakehead fish, the most popular is still dried fish. The secret to making delicious dried fish seems simple but requires skill: Fresh fish is scrubbed clean with coconut leaves to make the skin bright, the meat soft, and not scratched; then salted to taste, left overnight, then washed, and dried in the sun. If done correctly, the dried fish is soft, fragrant, and flavorful without being too salty or oily. Grilled, the fatty aroma will make the person enjoying it remember it forever.

Until now, many families in the Upper U Minh region still maintain the habit of storing dried fish at home. Dried fish is grilled, shredded and mixed with mango salad or neem leaf salad with tamarind sauce, rustic dishes that warmly entertain guests, full of country spirit.

Dried striped snakehead fish are dried in the sun by people of Vinh Hoa commune. Photo: AN LAM

From the familiar freshwater fish, the people of Vinh Hoa commune cleverly built a famous dried striped snakehead fish brand, certified as a collective trademark by the Intellectual Property Office. Ms. Pham Cam Chi's Kenh Sau dried fish facility is one of the addresses to preserve the profession and improve the product. "Every year, my family makes 2 tons of dried fish of all kinds. I make a small amount but it must be delicious, clean and safe to keep customers. Striped snakehead fish is popular because of its fatty, fragrant and chewy taste. To make delicious dried fish, we have to wait until the end of the year pond draining season when the freshwater fish are fat and have firm meat before cutting and drying them," Ms. Chi shared.

According to Ms. Chi, the secret to making delicious dried fish is just fresh fish, salt and fish sauce, but it requires skill and a balance of spices so that the dried fish is not too salty or bland. With one-sun dried fish, it is only dried once, then vacuum-sealed and refrigerated to preserve the sweetness of the freshwater fish. On average, 4kg of fresh fish will produce 1kg of dried fish. Dried striped snakehead fish costs 400,000 - 450,000 VND/kg and is always sold out during holidays and Tet.

From a simple dish dried in front of the house, dried snakehead fish has now spread far and wide. People have raised the level of dried fish to become a commodity product, appearing in rural markets, supermarkets, cities, and following tourists as gifts everywhere. It is still the same fish, still the salty taste of the Southern sun and wind, but now dried snakehead fish is branded with the OCOP label, becoming the " culinary ambassador" of the homeland.

Nowadays, not only Vinh Hoa, many localities of the province such as Thanh Hung, An Bien, Vinh Phong also participate in the OCOP program, bringing dried snakehead fish to the specialty shelves with beautiful packaging and full traceability. Thanks to that, the province's dried snakehead fish is present on e-commerce platforms, reaching major provinces and cities. This seemingly simple dish has now become a source of pride for the homeland, both preserving the soul of the land and increasing the income of many households attached to the traditional profession.

AN LAM

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/kho-sac-ran-dac-san-que-a427386.html