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Ca Kèo, a delicacy from the Mekong Delta, carries the sweet essence of its watery region. When combined with fresh green chili, it tantalizes taste buds with its unique and stimulating flavor.
The cuisine and beverages of Southern Vietnam are a symphony of flavors, echoing the melodies of local songs and customs. They embody the salty sea, the sweet fields, the refreshing gardens, the rich alluvial soil, and the pure breeze. They surge like floodwaters, vast as the floating lands at the end of our beloved country, creating simple yet remarkable Southern dishes that encapsulate the essence of land, water, wind, and sky.
Ca Kèo in the culinary world of the Mekong Delta
The natural gift bestowed upon the people of the Mekong Delta
The mudfish, also known as the mud gudgeon, is a freshwater fish living in ponds, canals, channels, ditches, and river mouths in provinces bordering the sea such as Can Tho, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau... The fish's body is round, measuring about 10 - 15 cm in length, its oil slightly flat, and they live in schools, robust and healthy. People in the Mekong Delta regard mudfish as small, unattractive in appearance and color, so in the past, the lowest seating area in theaters, with the cheapest tickets, was often referred to as the mudfish section, mudfish seats.
Mudfish in Cà Mau are abundant beyond measure, especially during the black season when the water surface is dense, hence the story of the 'king of Cà Mau' as told by Uncle Ba Phi goes like this: 'Back in the day, our silver beach area all the way to this Lung Tràm river bend, mudfish swarmed like noodles in a pot. But back in the day, there weren't many means to catch mudfish like now, mainly caught by hand. Catching like this, each time I reached my hand into the river and then raised it, I caught ten fish, one per finger, lying still without struggling. Mudfish are so slippery, they can't slip out of my hand.' That's just talk, mudfish can make many incredibly delicious dishes, such as braised with fish sauce, sour soup with giang leaves, braised in clay pots, braised with pepper, mudfish hotpot, deep-fried, cooked in porridge, dried... especially making grilled mudfish with salt and chili for a more tantalizing taste, and eating it with rice is even more wonderful.
The wild, unrestrained, simple imprint is the characteristic of the cuisine of the Mekong Delta full of distinctive and wild cultural essence
Mudfish grilled with salt and green chili – Unique right from its name
The favorite dish of revelers in the Mekong Delta is mudfish grilled with salt and chili. This dish doesn't require elaborate preparation but offers the pure taste of fish under the red flames of charcoal, enhanced by the salty and spicy flavor of chili salt, stimulating the palate. If people from the South are already familiar with mudfish grilled with salt and chili, a slight variation, instead of using bird's eye chili or chili padi, replacing it with green chili (wild chili) – a forest chili with a fragrant aroma and a mild taste, brings a new, unfamiliar yet familiar flavor.
Mudfish grilled with salt and chili is a simple, familiar dish, imbued with the taste of the Southern land
For people from the North, unless they have the opportunity to travel or work in the watery land of the Mekong Delta, it would be difficult for them to savor the taste of this dish. But now, in this bustling capital, there's a little corner of Saigon, small but containing so much soul, so much culture of the Southern people, that's the Saigon Delicious Cuisine Restaurant and mudfish grilled with salt and green chili is a representative dish there.
Describing this dish as simple wouldn't be wrong, but calling it intricate wouldn't be inaccurate either. Chefs at Saigon Delicious Cuisine pay attention to every small detail in each step of preparation to provide the best experience for diners. For example, green chilies must be thoroughly washed and deseeded before being mixed with crushed rock salt. Marinating the fish for exactly 30 minutes allows the spices to penetrate evenly, resulting in rich flavors after grilling. To achieve a golden hue and a fragrant aroma, a light brushing of cooking oil evenly on the fish is applied before grilling. Signs of readiness include a golden color, dripping fish fat onto the charcoal with a sizzling sound, and releasing a tantalizing aroma.
The marvelous combination of ingredients sourced from the rivers and the fragrance of the fields and grass of the Western land
If diners have the opportunity to taste this dish at the Saigon Delicious Cuisine restaurant, they will surely never forget the rich spiciness from green chili salt, the sweet and sour taste of the sauce, and the delicious, fatty sweetness of mudfish. Although it's just a simple, rustic dish, it's precisely these simple elements that give it its unique identity here, such as the wonderful combination of ingredients sourced from the rivers, and the fragrance of the fields and grass of the Western land.
It's not just the Mudfish grilled with green chili salt that delights diners, when you come to Saigon Delicious Cuisine, you'll see the personality in each component; spicy food must be spicy, sour food must be sour, sweet food must be sweet... finishing the whole pot, you'll gradually see those flavors blending into each other from the 'products' here, to witness the charm of this Southern piece of land embracing through its kind-hearted, hospitable people, and to see a space that's 'very Saigon'.
And don't forget to book your table through PasGo to receive the attractive offers that the restaurant has specially for you!
>> See more detailed information about Saigon Delicious Cuisine Restaurant here
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