Buzz
Can Gio, the only area in Ho Chi Minh City boasting a 20km long coastline and an intricate river system, offers unique travel experiences with destinations like Monkey Island and Vam Sat mangrove forest. This tranquil and pristine area draws tourists for relaxation, away from urban pollution, especially to enjoy and purchase Can Gio's specialty dishes.
Tranquil Can Gio and its numerous specialties
Can Gio's Specialties
1. Mixed Salad of Mudskipper Fish and Kimchi Leaves
The salad of mudskipper fish mixed with kimchi leaves is a delicacy that any visitor should indulge in when visiting Can Gio. Mudskipper fish belong to the white goby family, often found in areas along muddy estuaries, considered a delicacy of the brackish region due to their unattractive appearance but sweet, fragrant, and tender flesh.
Freshly caught live mudskipper fish (photo by ST)
Kimchi leaves are a type of climbing vine, with soft stems, pale green color, and small size. Kimchi leaf vines usually creep among low bushes or fences. Occasionally, they also inhabit the edges of mangrove forests near the shore. Making kimchi leaf salad is simple and extremely quick.
Enjoy a unique salad with fish uniquely prepared, featuring in the picture.
Pick fresh sour and slightly bitter leaves, clean them, and let them dry. The salad's taste hinges on the dressing, slightly sweet to complement the leaves. Mix fish sauce with tomatoes in a perfect ratio, pour over the leaves, mix well, and sprinkle with fried shallots and chili.
Fish meat processed to bring out its sweet flavor, as shown in the picture.
The rustic dish combines the sour-bitter taste of the leaves with the sweet fish sauce, enhanced when paired with wild honey wine.
Tiny, lush green leaves (image reference)
2. Sun-dried barracuda
Famous in Can Gio, sun-dried barracuda is a unique delicacy. Caught fish are halved, cleaned, salted (10kg fish to 1kg salt) for an hour, rinsed, and then sun-dried for a day.
Halved barracuda, cleaned, then sun-dried (image reference)
Drying under the sun for just a day turns the mackerel fillet golden, firm, and odorless, enriching it with nutrients beneficial for health, especially in children.
A quick grill transforms the mackerel into a delicious dish (image ST)
Frying or grilling sun-dried mackerel creates an incredibly tasty meal. Experiment with more elaborate dishes like mackerel jerky salad, crispy rice mackerel, pressed rice mackerel, or mackerel soup.
Genuine mackerel ensures consumers are not deceived (image ST)
To distinguish between real and fake dried pineapple fish, observe the genuine ones with two distinct black stripes running along its body, flesh in a natural pinkish-white or slightly yellowish-pink hue, skin gleaming silver-white, short fins, a tail in a pale yellow-white, evenly thin backbone, and a lack of a white fat layer between the fish's midsection and its meat.
Dried pineapple fish rice ball under the sun (image ST)
Cần Giờ's mangoes, known for their sweet, fragrant flavor, are a must-try delicacy among the unique seafood and produce of the Cần Giờ coastal region, thriving in the sandy soil.
Cần Giờ mangoes, famous for their refreshing sweetness and aromatic quality, cultivated in sandy coastal soils, become an unforgettable treat for visitors to Cần Giờ.
Can Gio's mango orchards laden with fruit (photo credit: ST)
Can Gio's mangoes are slender, turning a soft yellow when ripe, with a sweet, refreshing taste that's beloved by many. This fruit serves as a perfect dessert, smoothie ingredient, or a daily refreshing drink.
Image of Can Gio's ripe mangoes: thin skin, slightly yellow (photo credit: ST)
Rich in proteins, lipids, calcium, vitamins A, B1, C, and various beneficial micro-nutrients, ripe Can Gio mangoes offer numerous health benefits, supporting child development, skin health, and vision. Currently, Can Gio district boasts 300ha of mango farms, contributing significantly to the local economy.
Ripe Cat mangoes burst with juicy sweetness (image ST)
4. Soursop
The soursop, a distinctive Cần Giờ specialty fruit, leaves an unforgettable taste that lingers, captivating anyone who tries it.
Shape of the soursop fruit (image ST)
Can Gio's Soursop has been ranked among the top 50 most famous fruit delicacies by the Vietnam Record Organization and Vietnam Top Center, beloved by consumers. Grown scattered across Long Hoa commune and Can Thanh town, the fruit is small but firm, sweet, and has thick flesh.
Soursop garden heavy with fruit (image ST)
Tasting a piece of soursop, you'll experience the richness of a fruit cultivated near the coast. Its flesh, edible and white, surrounds a hard-to-digest core and numerous black seeds.
The white flesh of the soursop looks simple yet is incredibly aromatic and delicious (image ST)
The flesh can be eaten directly or blended into a deliciously sweet smoothie. Soursop is rich in fiber, providing numerous benefits: it supplies vitamin C to the body and its warming properties help reduce gas and dissolve phlegm.
Enjoy a refreshing and aromatic soursop smoothie (image ST)
5. Cần Giờ's Coconut Water
Traveling from Cần Giờ towards the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, visitors will encounter an abundance of coconut water stalls lining the vibrant Sác Forest road.
Where the coconut trees thrive
Coconut trees flourish in marshy areas along riverbanks or coastal zones with shifting tides, benefiting from slow-moving, nutrient-rich silt deposits.
A coconut cluster brimming with fruit
For a refreshing coconut drink, split the fruit, scoop out the flesh, clean it, then mix with sugar water and ice for a rejuvenating beverage priced at $0.43. Coconut flesh alone sells for about $2.15 per kilogram.
Dubbed as coconut water, yet only husks reside within (image: St)
Coconut water can also be transformed into jam, used in cooking desserts,... It holds remarkable benefits in cooling down, detoxifying, treating high blood pressure, and enhancing complexion.
Coconut bowl filled with fresh sugar for a refreshing husk experience (image: ST)
6. Various seafood dishes
- Indulge in the tantalizing flavors of grilled iron shrimp with chili salt, a must-try dish when visiting Cần Giờ. These shrimps, living in the wild, boast a sweetness and tenderness unparalleled by other varieties.
Iron shrimp grilled with chili salt is a delicacy unique to Cần Giờ, where the crustaceans thrive in their natural habitat, resulting in succulent, firm flesh unmatched by any other shrimp.
Captivating imagery of fresh and delectable iron shrimp from Cần Giờ (photo by ST)
Serving up a plate of grilled iron shrimp with chili salt, all it takes is peeling off the tough outer shell to reveal the succulent pink flesh within. Dip these delights in green chili salt for an indescribably sweet and savory experience.
Grilled salt and chili prawns from Can Gio (image reference)
Steamed Crab
Crabs in Can Gio are known for their firm, sweet meat and bright red roe that makes your mouth water just by looking at them
Image of the rich, deliciously roe-filled Can Gio crab (image reference)
- Indulge in our mouthwatering grilled oysters
Sourced from plump, tender oysters in Can Gio, our grilled oysters are a savory delight. Simply place them over a charcoal flame until they open wide, then savor the succulent aroma. Best enjoyed hot, dip them in a blend of salt, pepper, and a splash of lime for an exquisite experience.
Grilled oysters paired with seasoned salt and pepper (image by ST)
- Savor the flavors of our garlic-infused pan-seared prawns
Indulge in the succulent delight of oversized prawns, abundant in savory meat. Crispy garlic-infused shells offer an additional layer of aromatic satisfaction.
Feast your eyes on the tantalizing sight of garlic-charred prawns (photo by ST).
Razor Clams
Can Gio stands as the premier hub for cultivating razor clams, thriving amidst its sandy, silt-free beaches and gentle tidal currents, resulting in plump, sweet meat.
Can Gio's clam farming beach (photo credit)
Visit Can Gio Beach to spot rows of wooden poles sticking out of the sea, marking clam cultivation areas. Clams can be easily prepared by simply washing them, adding a little water, and lightly crushing lemongrass for a delicious steamed lemongrass clam dish.
Delicious lemongrass steamed clams (Photo credit)
Crispy rice cake with pork floss
Freshly caught geophyte in image (Photo ST)
Wash the geophyte, immerse it in lime water for hours until its outer skin swells. Peel off the skin to reveal silvery-brown pieces, use a stick to turn it inside out, removing the soil and sand. The fresh geophyte can be fried, sautéed, grilled, or added to porridge.
Local people in Can Gio catching geophyte (Photo St)
Dried geophyte sweetens water uniquely, adding a few to a pot enhances the broth's sweetness and aroma unmatched by any bone. Its natural sweetness makes it a nutritious, convenient dish when simply grilled.
Dry Geosam, a specialty from Can Gio region (image St)
