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Cần Giờ has long been a familiar weekend getaway in Saigon, especially for young folks from the Mekong Delta region. However, when it comes to Cần Giờ's specialties, not everyone is well-versed. Cần Giờ is peaceful, tranquil, making it a magnet for many tourists seeking refuge from the city's hustle and bustle, especially to indulge in and purchase Cần Giờ's specialties as gifts. Here, we'll unveil the most famous specialties of Cần Giờ that you shouldn't overlook.
1. Mixed Salad of Mudskipper Fish and Lim Kim Leaves – Unique Specialty of Cần Giờ
The mixed salad of mudskipper fish and lim kim leaves is a delicacy that every tourist should try when visiting Cần Giờ. Mudskipper fish belong to the white goby fish family, often found in the estuarine mudflats, considered a product of the brackish water region due to their somewhat unattractive appearance but sweet, fragrant, and tender flesh. Lim kim leaves are a type of soft, green, vine-like foliage that usually grows on low bushes or riverbanks. Sometimes, they also inhabit mangrove forests near the coast.
Pick fresh lim kim leaves, remove the stems, wash thoroughly, and drain. The deliciousness of the salad depends on how the dressing is prepared. Since lim kim leaves have a slightly sour taste, the dipping sauce should be slightly sweeter. Pour the sauce over the leaves, add mudskipper fish, sprinkle some sautéed onions and chili, mix well, and it's ready. A rustic dish with mudskipper fish and lim kim leaves that delights many tourists.
2. Sun-Dried Herring
Sun-dried herring is a famous specialty of Cần Giờ, which tourists can enjoy or purchase as gifts. After cleaning the fish, marinate it quickly with 10kg of fish and 1kg of salt for about 1 hour, then rinse several times and sun-dry. Sun-dried herring, whether fried or grilled, creates a delicious dish. You can also prepare some more sophisticated dishes such as herring salad, fried rice with herring, dry herring with rice, herring soup...
To distinguish between genuine and fake sun-dried herring, we can easily notice that real sun-dried herring has two dark stripes, the flesh has a natural pink or slightly yellowish color, the skin is silvery-white and bright white, short fins, white-yellow tail, thin backbone, no white fat in the middle, and fish meat. This is one of the special herring dishes of Cần Giờ that you shouldn't miss.
3. Cần Giờ Sand Mango
Apart from the typical seafood found in the coastal areas of Cần Giờ, sand mangoes have also become an unmissable specialty for tourists visiting this place. Cần Giờ sand mangoes are known for their sweet taste when grown in the sandy coastal areas.
Cần Giờ sand mangoes are elongated in shape, light yellow when ripe, with a refreshing sweet taste loved by many. Mangoes are a type of fruit that can be used in desserts, smoothies, and daily beverages.
Sand mangoes – a specialty of Cần Giờ, have numerous benefits. Ripe mangoes contain high levels of protein, lipids, calcium, vitamins A, B1, C, and other beneficial nutrients that are excellent for the growth, skin, and vision of young children. Currently, the entire Cần Giờ area cultivates 300 hectares of mangoes, providing economic value to the people of Cần Giờ and gaining nationwide recognition for their high quality.
4. Chẽm Fish Hotpot – Authentic Cần Giờ Specialty Dish
Wondering what to eat in Cần Giờ? Chẽm fish hotpot is a perfect answer. Chẽm fish, also known as unicorn fish, is usually found in coral reefs, oceans, and brackish water estuaries (channels, creeks, lagoons, deltas). In the past, it was a dish for the noble class and rarely eaten by ordinary people. Sliced unicorn fish is immersed in the hotpot, giving it a sweet, delicious flavor. The sweet and sour taste of pineapple, onions, and lemongrass in the hotpot broth has won over many discerning diners. Especially when served with a bowl of salty fish sauce and some fresh chili slices, it's just perfect.
You can find this dish in restaurants located near the seawall overlooking the sea, with an average price of 300,000 VND per pot for 4 people. Enjoying a meal with friends amidst the sound of the waves and the cool breeze whispering in your ears will make your trip memorable.
5. Sapodilla Fruit
Speaking of Cần Giờ's specialty fruits, we can't forget about sapodilla, a fruit with a deliciously enticing aroma that once tasted, you'll never forget. Cần Giờ sapodilla has been ranked by the Vietnam Record Center as one of the top 50 most famous specialty fruits. Sapodilla trees are scattered in Long Hòa town and Cần Thạnh town, with small but firm, sweet, and thick-skinned fruits.
When you bite into a sapodilla, you can feel the richness of fruits grown in coastal areas. The flesh consists of edible white pulp, a hard-to-digest core, and many black seeds. The fruit can be eaten directly or blended into a delicious and sweet smoothie. Sapodilla is rich in fiber, providing vitamin C to the body, warming, relieving coughs, and phlegm. When visiting here, be sure to indulge in and buy some kilograms of sapodilla as gifts for your loved ones.
6. Cần Giờ Coconut Water
Along the road from Cần Giờ to downtown Ho Chi Minh City, tourists will come across tempting roadside coconut water stalls near Sác forest. Coconut palms grow in marshy areas along rivers or coasts where the tide rises and falls, where slow-flowing water accumulates nutrient-rich sediment. To get fresh coconut, vendors have to cut the fruit in half, scrape out the coconut meat, add sugar water and ice cubes, a refreshing bowl of coconut water costs 10,000 VND. If sold separately, the price of coconut meat is about 50,000 VND/kg.
Coconut can also be used to make preserves and tea. Coconut water has cooling, detoxifying, blood pressure lowering, thirst-quenching, and beautifying effects... In Vietnam, there are facilities for producing coconut honey. The raw materials are sourced from high-quality Cần Giờ coconut, with carefully selected coconut shells according to quality standards, and clean production processes ensure food safety. So when you come here, you should indulge in coconut water – this famous specialty of Cần Giờ.
7. Cần Giờ Ginseng – A Rare and Precious Specialty
Cần Giờ ginseng has remarkable effects. Cần Giờ ginseng is finger-sized, tubular, slimy, light brownish-pink, and is sold at high prices due to its health-enhancing properties. Harvest the ginseng, clean it, then soak it in lime water. After a few hours, the ginseng skin will swell, at which point you just need to peel off the outer skin to get the silver-brown ginseng bulb and slice it. Use chopsticks to remove the head to remove the gut and sand. Dried ginseng is often used to sweeten water, adding a bit of dried ginseng to boiling water will create a special sweetness that other types of bones cannot match. Ginseng itself has a rich, natural sweetness and can become a nutritious and convenient food. This is a nutritious specialty of Cần Giờ that we think would make a great gift for loved ones.
Dried ginseng is often used to sweeten water. Adding a little dried ginseng to boiling water will create a special sweetness that other types of bones cannot match. Ginseng itself has a rich, natural sweetness and can become a nutritious and convenient food. This is a nutritious specialty of Cần Giờ that we think would make a great gift for loved ones.
8. Spicy Salt Grilled Iron Shrimp
If you're a seafood BBQ enthusiast, don't miss out on the famous Cần Giờ specialty – Spicy Salt Grilled Iron Shrimp. It's tastier than any other grilled shrimp you've ever had. The iron shrimp in Cần Giờ are naturally caught, so when you taste them, you'll feel the firmness of the shrimp and the sweet taste of the shrimp juice released when grilled over charcoal. There's nothing more wonderful than holding a freshly grilled iron shrimp in your hand, enjoying it with a sip of beer and chatting with friends.
When in Cần Giờ, you must try the Spicy Salt Grilled Iron Shrimp, an unmissable dish. When eating, gently peel off the red shell to reveal the pink-white flesh dipped in fragrant spicy salt, irresistibly tender and sweet.
9. Finger Conch
It would be incomplete not to mention the Cần Giờ specialty dish without mentioning finger conch. It's named so because the shell resembles a finger. Finger conch is harvested year-round, but at the beginning of the rainy season (around May or June of the lunar calendar) is when the conch is firm, crisp, and delicious. Conch can be prepared into many delicious and unique dishes such as: Grilled conch with scallion oil, stir-fried with Vietnamese coriander, tamarind, pineapple, basil, water spinach...
When visiting and traveling in Cần Giờ, diners can enjoy delicious dishes made from this type of conch at restaurants in the city center, live seafood restaurants, or eco-tourism areas, community tourism, coastal plain... Don't miss out on this finger conch dish when coming to the land of Cần Giờ.
10. Grilled Sea Urchin
Sea urchin is one of the seafood dishes that many people love nowadays. While there are many ways to prepare sea urchin, perhaps the most delicious and special is grilled sea urchin with eggs. To make this dish, people often choose sea urchin eggs that are much sweeter than crab, mantis shrimp, or fish. The initial preparation of sea urchin is also very important, cutting the gonads into strips so that the roe is not retained will turn the meat black, removing all spines, liver, and guts then dividing the roe and meat into two parts for separate processing and roasting. Sea urchin meat is also very rare so the body part is chopped into pieces and grilled until fragrant to be used.
The most delicious part is the sea urchin with abundant roe, grilled with scallion oil and served with sweet pomelo to reduce the richness and enhance the unique flavor of the sea urchin roe. Many people often compare the taste of sea urchin to be sweeter than crab meat, sea urchin roe much tastier than fish roe, rich, and aromatic, rich in protein and nutrients. When you're here, enjoy this exquisite Cần Giờ specialty – Grilled Sea Urchin with your friends and family.
Above are the top 10 famous and beloved Cần Giờ specialties that we want to introduce to you. Now you have in your hand the top famous Cần Giờ specialties, so what are you waiting for, gather your friends and come to Cần Giờ to de-stress and enjoy delicious dishes. Don't miss out on what makes Cần Giờ unique, let's travel together and enjoy the famous specialties right away.
Posted by: Ngô Quốc Thái
Keywords: 10 Must-Try Specialties in Cần Giờ
