Grilled mackerel with chili salt dip in Quang Ngai

As a local delicacy of Quang Ngai, grilled mackerel has long been enticing tourists with its sweet, savory, and slightly bitter aroma.

Grilled mackerel with chili salt dip in Quang Ngai

Mackerel often inhabit rivers, streams, or waterfall areas, with flat, long, and slender bodies, typically about 2-3 fingers wide. This fish species is easily recognizable due to the red fins around its mouth and numerous small round white spots on its silver body.

They feed on algae in the upper reaches, resulting in fragrant, delicious, clean, and nutritious meat, often abundant in June during the dry season.

People in Quang Ngai often treat guests with this type of fish, preparing it into various delicious dishes such as crispy frying, braising, cooking with turmeric, making salads… But the most attractive and easy to make is still grilled mackerel.

Grilled mythical fish requires no intricate marination. Locals simply catch them from the stream, wash them thoroughly, skewer them with sharp bamboo sticks along the body, and grill them over a blazing fire. The cook must skillfully rotate the fish to ensure it cooks evenly, with the inside remaining tender while the outside retains its golden color and crispy skin.

Golden, fragrant, fully cooked fish emits an enticing aroma. When eating, you can hold the piping hot fish and dip it in chili salt, savoring the sweet, fatty, savory, and slightly bitter taste of the flesh and crispy skin.

This rustic dish used to be a common presence in the locals' meals here. Gradually, it has become a sought-after specialty appearing in restaurants and eateries in urban areas. Nowadays, this type of fish is not easily caught and is sold for 200,000 – 300,000 VND per kilogram.

Source: Vnexpress.net

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Reference: Travel guide from Mytour