An Giang specialties are abundant beyond measure.

The land of An Giang is bestowed with numerous unforgettable delicacies by nature, a rarity not found everywhere.

An Giang specialties are abundant beyond measure.

Various types of fermented fish

Chau Doc (An Giang) is renowned as the 'kingdom of fermented fish' due to its location at the confluence of the Hau River, one of the two branches of the Mekong River famous for its rich natural fishery resources. When visiting Chau Doc, you will encounter enticing varieties such as fermented snakehead fish, catfish, climbing perch, three-striped snakehead fish, and sacc fish... or the most famous one, Thai fermented fish, displayed and sold everywhere.

Chau Doc fermented fish has a slightly sweet taste characteristic of the Southern region but is salty inside, making it ideal to pair with plain rice, especially on rainy days. The prices of various types of fermented fish range from tens of thousands to over 100,000 dong per kilogram.

Many famous fermented fish brands in Chau Doc follow their own traditional recipes, so the taste varies. You should ask the sellers for advice to choose the best-tasting fermented fish as gifts. Tourists can buy them at Chau Doc market or in the area at the foot of Sam Mountain.

Phu My inflated cake

The craft village of Phu My inflated cake has been formed, existed, and developed for nearly 70 years, with 50 production facilities, attracting about 300 workers. Among them, famous families with a tradition of making cakes such as the family of Mr. Le Minh Don, Mrs. Ngo Thi Don, Mr. Tran Van Tam...

Phu My inflated cakes are small like a saucer but when baked, they puff up bigger than a fan. The cakes are both fluffy and soft, with the rich taste of glutinous rice, the sweetness of sugar, the fragrance of milk, sesame, soybeans, peanuts... creating a distinctive flavor that is indispensable in meals on Tet holiday or at parties, weddings.

In addition to various types of fermented fish, dried fish is also a famous dish in An Giang. Because of the abundance and freshness of fish, the dried fish here is diverse, such as dried snakehead fish, dried sacc fish, dried catfish...

Chau Doc also has a delicious dried beef dish, divided into 3 types: hard and crispy golden dried beef, dark brown dried beef hard but not crispy, and brown fluffy crispy dried beef. Chau Doc dried beef is one of the items that tourists often buy as gifts.

Thai starfruit and mango

Visiting Chau Doc, you'll easily fall in love with the sweet and fragrant ripe Thai mangoes sold everywhere. Occasionally, you'll also come across stalls selling starfruit, a distinctive fruit that only An Giang has in Vietnam.

Starfruit is orange, turning slightly black when ripe, very light, originating from Thailand and imported to An Giang through the Cambodian border. The fruit has small thorns on the outside but not sharp, very easy to peel. Starfruit has a fragrance similar to jackfruit and a hint of mountain forest scent.

After peeling off the thorny skin, you'll enjoy the distinctive sweet and sour taste. However, starfruit can only be kept for a few days. It's best to buy unripe fruit before leaving so that when you give it as a gift, it's still in good condition and ripe enough.

Grilled chili salt climbing perch

One of the dishes you must try when stepping foot in An Giang is the delicious and rich grilled chili salt climbing perch. Climbing perch is a freshwater fish with high nutritional value. This fish species is distributed in many different regions, and the Tien River and Hau River are where most climbing perch are concentrated.

There's nothing more delightful than exploring the rivers and enjoying the unique and delicious climbing perch dish in the peaceful and fresh atmosphere during the flood season in An Giang. You can buy climbing perch as gifts for prices ranging from 100,000 to 130,000 VND/kg.

Nipa palm fruit

When talking about An Giang, one cannot forget the dishes made from nipa palm fruit. Among them, fresh nipa palm fruit is very soft, with a slight coconut-like taste but cooler. You can buy the pre-soaked type in jars as gifts because they can last up to a year, but the freshest nipa palm fruit is still the best.

An important note is that fresh nipa palm fruit can only last for about 2-3 days in the refrigerator, and the water is available outside the market but should be consumed within 24 hours. Additionally, nipa palm syrup is used to stew fish, and when mixed with lemon juice, it makes a delicious and refreshing drink.

Soursop salad

Soursop trees are abundant in the regions of Tri Ton, Chau Doc, and Tinh Bien (An Giang). This salad is prepared simply and quickly. The young leaves and flowers of the soursop are cleaned and blanched in boiling water to reduce bitterness, then drained. Cucumber, pineapple, and mango are thinly sliced or shredded. People in the Mekong Delta often make soursop salad with dried snakehead fish or dried sacc fish. The dried fish is grilled and shredded, while the pork belly is thinly sliced after being boiled, then mixed with a few peeled shrimp.

In An Giang this season, many eateries and restaurants offer soursop salad with dried sacc fish on their menus, don't hesitate to order a plate. And if you have acquaintances, friends in the Chau Doc area, you'll definitely be treated to a dish that will leave a lasting memory, because of its bitterness, the uniqueness of the flood season, and the heartfelt hospitality of the people in the Mekong Delta.

Rough nipa palm fruit

For generations, the nipa palm tree has become a familiar companion to the people of the Mekong Delta. The roots of the nipa palm tree often tightly clump together to hold soil and serve as excellent wave breakers. The budding nipa palm fruit is green, and when it blossoms, it turns a beautiful white color. During the flood season, these buds will turn into clusters of round fruits. The nipa palm fruit is oval-shaped, as big as a fingertip. The young fruit is green, turning into a pale yellow when ripe, with a deliciously tart taste.

There's only one vendor of rough nipa palm fruit in Chau Doc market – a dish named after its preparation method. Fresh nipa palm fruit, after being smashed, drained of excess water and rubbed to remove bitterness, is then mixed with sugar and left to marinate for a few hours before it's ready to eat.

This dish requires finesse to ensure that the smashed nipa palm fruit isn't too crushed, retaining its fresh green color after rubbing and draining water, while preserving its original flavor and crunchiness. Rough nipa palm fruit, eaten with chili salt, is both sweet and crunchy, very delicious. This dish is quite expensive, around 100,000 VND per kilogram. You can bargain if you buy in bulk.

Clam roasting

'Tung lò mò' is another name for beef sausage, a unique delicacy of the Cham people in An Giang. For a long time, the Kinh people have also enjoyed and cooked beef sausage dishes similar to those of the Cham people, and it's now widely popular in Nui Sam, Chau Doc, Tinh Bien, and Tri Ton.

Unlike pork sausage, beef sausage, after being made, only needs to be dried before it can be fried or grilled. The most enticing is grilled beef sausage over charcoal. When fully cooked, it's cut into pieces with a pinkish-red color, emitting a fragrant aroma without the smell of beef fat.

'Tung lò mò' should be grilled to perfection, eaten right away. You'll taste the sweet and savory flavor of beef and beef fat, the slightly sour taste of fermented rice mixed with spicy chili, along with fresh vegetables like lettuce, coriander, sour star fruit, and bitter banana. Beef sausage is best enjoyed with salt, pepper, and lime dip or chili sauce. It's even more delicious when eaten with fresh vegetables and served with vermicelli or bread.

An Giang flattened green rice

If people in Hanoi take pride in having Vong Village green rice, then the Khmer people in Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and An Giang also have flattened rice to offer distant guests whenever they visit during the harvest season. The rice, about 10 days before harvest and still unripe, is harvested and soaked in water for half a day before being drained.

Soaking the rice must be timed, if soaked for too long, the rice will become soft and mushy, if soaked for too short a time, the rice grains will be hard. Roasting the rice must be done skillfully and roasted in a clay pot to retain heat for a longer time. Roasting is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, only a small bowl of rice at a time, pouring it into the bottom of the clay pot makes it easier to stir and ensures that the rice grains are evenly roasted and fully cooked.

Long Xuyen fish noodle soup

Cooking fish noodle soup isn't too difficult, but it requires skill and meticulousness. The broth is made from boiled fish broth (some vendors add extra fish heads to enhance the sweetness). The broth must be clear, with the sweet taste of fish, and especially without any fishy smell. The fish must be fresh wild snakehead fish, as only then will the fish meat be delicious and sweet.

After boiling, remove the fatty part of the fish and discard the head and fish bones. Carefully remove the fish, as leaving any bones behind can easily cause choking. The fish meat is marinated with spices and turmeric powder (or fresh turmeric, depending on the cook) and quickly stir-fried to absorb the spices and override the fishy smell.

The bowl of fish noodle soup is presented with the eye-catching yellow color of wild snakehead fish, thin slices of banana flower, and the green color of water spinach and Vietnamese coriander. Alongside the bowl of noodles is the hot fish head, served with a bowl of chili salt and lime to make the dish even more enticing.

Seven Mountains scorpion beef

Scorpions, also known as 'clampers,' are black, with large, sturdy pincers, about the size of a rice weevil. At first glance, scorpions look like tangled cockroaches. In the Seven Mountains region, this type of scorpion can be seen being sold along both sides of the road. To catch these scorpions, hunters must go up into the mountains. They equip themselves with a pickaxe, a clamp, and a basket. When they find a suspicious rock, they just need to flip the rock over to one side, look into the crevice, and clamp it.

After 'harvesting,' they bring the scorpions back and soak them in a basin for a few days to 'cleanse their stomachs.' Leaving the scorpions whole, they wash them clean and fry them in hot oil or lard. After a few minutes, the scorpions are cooked, emitting a strange and enticing aroma. Scorpions are served with aromatic herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few sprigs of cilantro, dipped in salt and lime. Take a bite, it's crispy and rich. According to connoisseurs of this dish, the scorpion's belly is the tastiest part.

Besides the delicious dishes mentioned above, when you come to An Giang, you shouldn't miss out on Chau Doc fish sauce hotpot, salted ba khia, fluffy rice at the new market, or Seven Mountains beef seven ways...

According to Ngoisao.net

***

Reference: Travel handbook from Mytour