Top 10 Delightful Local Dishes in Binh Thuan

Binh Thuan's renowned fresh seafood gives life to delightful dishes, especially the Banh Canh Cha Ca. Crispy golden-fried fish patties complement the sweet and tender steamed fish patties, all mingling with white silky noodles in a broth that's both sweet and savory. This dish encapsulates the culinary essence of Binh Thuan. Banh Canh Cha Ca, a rustic local specialty, is a must-try for travelers visiting Phan Thiet. Freshly caught fish from the local seas is the key attraction. Cooks use the fish meat for the patties, fish bones for the broth, and fish sauce for seasoning. Commonly used fish varieties include barracuda, snapper, grunt, mackerel, and catfish.

The fish mixture is finely ground, combined with pork fat diced into small cubes, and seasoned with a unique blend of spices according to each restaurant's recipe. The mixture is then shaped into flat round patties using the palm of the hand. Steam-cooking is followed by a layer of beaten egg yolk on top to enhance the richness and visual appeal. Frying involves gently flipping the patties in a pan filled with just enough oil, resulting in a beautiful golden color. Some establishments use a higher proportion of barracuda in the ingredients to achieve a crispier, more colorful finish. Locals often enjoy a bowl of Banh Canh Cha Ca with a baguette, adding a touch of novelty to the dining experience.

One of the delicious, unique seafood dishes with distinctive flavors from Phan Thiet is the Fat-back Loach. The fish meat is tender and flavorful, served with various fresh vegetables, rice paper, and a uniquely blended fish sauce that makes it a must-try dish in the coastal city. The loach, with its smooth and shiny skin, resembling a stingray, is often abundant in the lunar months of August and September. This species predominantly inhabits the Central coastal regions, including the waters of Phan Thiet. Traditional dishes made from the loach, such as sour soup, spicy braised, stir-fried, and especially the fat-back loach with scallion oil, have long been the rustic delicacies of coastal residents. According to the experience of Phan Thiet locals, choosing a 1-2 kg loach is ideal, ensuring tender meat, sweetness, and soft cartilage inside.

Firstly, clean the outer slime (you can use lemongrass to remove the fishy smell), then clean the meat and leave the liver. Cut the fish into thin slices, arrange them on a plate, or steam it directly. The fat is diced, fried until golden, then add finely chopped scallions. When the fish is fully steamed, drizzle a layer of scallion oil over it, then sprinkle a bit of crushed roasted peanuts. Grab a fragrant, hot piece of fish, place it on the rice cake, roll it with various aromatic herbs, sour star fruit, bitter banana, fresh vermicelli, dip it in the pre-prepared fish sauce (you can use tamarind fish sauce or seasoned fish sauce), and you will experience a dish with the sweet aroma of fish meat, the richness of scallion oil, the nuttiness of peanuts, combined with the various flavors of raw vegetables, creating a delicious and exotic taste with the distinctive flavors of the coastal region. A small tip is to mix the crushed fish liver with the dipping sauce to enhance the sweetness and richness.

The coastal land of Phan Thiet is renowned as a fascinating destination, especially during hot summer days. Besides the comfort of immersing yourself in the cool seawater, you can indulge in delectable salads ranging from delightful to exquisite! Phan Thiet is a land of the sea, sun, wind, and fresh seafood. The fish salad in Phan Thiet is made from locally sourced fish such as snakehead fish, needlefish, or fresh ribbon fish. Crafting a fish salad is easy, and the accompanying ingredients are available in various markets. Depending on the method and type of fish preparation, you can relish different flavors of fish salads. For dry salads, a splash of lime is squeezed on the fish to cook it, mixed with finely chopped herbs, roasted peanuts, and grilled rice paper. For wet salads, the fish is soaked in a special dipping sauce made from ground peanuts and sesame, then rolled in rice paper with various fresh herbs. The flesh of snakehead fish is sweet, firm, and resilient, unlike other common fish, creating the distinctive taste of this seafood dish.

According to the locals' experience, when selecting fish, it is advisable to choose small ones, about the size of two fingers. After removing the fish bones, rinse with mineral water or fresh coconut water for added flavor. Next, blanch the fish in lime juice until it turns white, then marinate it in a sweet and sour tamarind sauce mixed with crushed garlic and chili. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow the spices to penetrate each piece of fish meat, then arrange it on a plate, lined with fresh banana leaves, surrounded by starfruit, sour bananas, and a few slices of red chili to enhance the appeal of the dish. The third fish salad is made from ribbon fish. The fish is cut lengthwise about 5 cm, and when eating, it should be dipped in lime juice with crushed garlic and chili to semi-cook the fish. When eating, roll the fish with various greens such as lettuce, coriander, starfruit, sour banana... and dip it in a bowl of peanut sauce. You won't be able to resist the pleasure of the delicious fish, the aroma of the herbs, and the spicy kick of garlic and chili in the fish roll.

Conch snail is a familiar mollusk to the people of the coastal area of Binh Thuan. Locals often use conch snails to prepare various delicious dishes such as steaming, stir-frying, grilling, and especially in salads. Each conch snail is usually quite heavy, with some weighing up to 2kg. After being caught, conch snails can survive in saltwater for up to a week. Therefore, tourists visiting Mui Ne can conveniently purchase live conch snails to bring home for their families to enjoy. However, the dish is always best when prepared from freshly caught snails, at that time the meat is still fresh with a rich and sweet flavor.

The meat of the conch snail has two parts, including the foot and the gut, both are edible. The foot is white, firm, and crunchy when eaten, while the gut is light brown with a rich taste. To extract the conch snail meat, one can either boil the snails until cooked and use a fork to pick the meat out, or separate the meat from the shell while still alive and then boil it. Snail medley salad is a dish made from the main ingredient of conch snails - a mollusk that is very familiar to the locals here. Therefore, snail medley salad is also a dish closely tied to the memories of each local resident. Perhaps, no one knows when this dish originated or who was the first to 'invent' it, but they are sure that snail medley salad is a dish with a long history, rooted in the lives of the people in Mui Ne.

Specialty ribbon cakes are widely sold in the coastal city of Phan Thiet in particular and Binh Thuan in general. This cake is classified as one of the typical snacks of the coastal people. Indeed, no one knows exactly when ribbon cakes started to appear in Phan Thiet, only that it is an important piece in the colorful culinary picture of Binh Thuan. People often say that if you visit Mui Ne - Phan Thiet and haven't tasted ribbon cakes, you haven't fully explored the unique culinary culture here. Due to the local pronunciation, ribbon cakes are also called 'bánh quai dạc' or 'bánh tai vạc.'

Every time you set foot in this land, along the main roads, and even deep into every alley, you can easily find stalls selling this specialty gift. Although not exclusive to Phan Thiet, you can encounter this cake in Saigon or Hoi An. However, the version in Phan Thiet is loved for its distinctive characteristics. In terms of appearance and structure, the cake is similar to transparent dumplings but with some differences. The cakes, white with a hint of red, slightly sticky, are stacked on top of each other in a beautiful manner. The perfect combination of the chewy texture of the cake's outer layer with the filling of delicious, rich shrimp meat makes it irresistibly tasty.

Phan Thiet Grilled Shrimp Paste Rice Paper Rolls is a dish exclusively sold in the evening along the roadside. With ingredients like rice paper, special shrimp paste, pork fat, and quail eggs, this dish is humble yet attracts many diners. Unlike traditional grilled shrimp paste rice paper in Phan Thiet, this dish uses thinner rice paper, more ingredients, and a more sophisticated cooking method. It resembles southern-style rice paper rolls but stands out with the outer layer rolled up gradually while grilling over charcoal. The distinctive flavor of this dish comes from the right amount of salty shrimp paste spread on the surface of the rice paper, along with chicken eggs or boiled quail eggs, sour fermented pork sausage, Vietnamese pork bologna, shallot fat, and chili sauce. Depending on each stall and the owner's secret recipe, the rice paper may also include a bit of sourness, shredded cabbage, butter... The key to making an attractive and easy-to-eat roll lies in the grilling - rolling process. The rice paper is not too thick nor too thin, making it easy to roll while grilling and preventing it from breaking when enjoyed.

To roll the paper while grilling, the griller uses two long iron chopsticks. One is placed inside the rice paper on the grilling tray, and the other is placed outside. The grilling process must be carefully timed to ensure that the rice paper is cooked just right before rolling. Rolling too early results in a less crispy rice paper, while rolling too late often causes the paper to break. Moreover, it must be rolled evenly to form a round roll and hold the filling tightly, preventing it from falling out when eaten. The first sensation when tasting this rustic dish is the combination of the warmth of freshly grilled rice paper, the crisp sound of the paper breaking, the tenderness of the eggs, the chewiness of the Vietnamese pork bologna, and the crunchiness of the fermented pork sausage. The salty-sweet taste of shrimp paste blends with the rich flavor of shallot fat and the spiciness of chili sauce on the tongue. Following that is a gentle warmth emanating from the grilling process. All blend together, complementing each other, creating a round and satisfying taste immediately afterward. And then, it leaves the desire to eat more of those rolls until fully satisfied...

Squid teeth are essentially small pieces of meat on the head of a squid. Usually, during preparation, many people tend to discard these squid teeth, thinking they are inedible. However, the people of Binh Thuan quickly discovered the hidden potential in this seemingly discarded part. To cater to tourists, this dish is prepared in various ways, such as squid teeth sausage, salt-grilled squid teeth, and spicy grilled squid teeth... The commonality among these dishes is that they are all very attractive and unique. After being cleaned, the squid teeth are meticulously seasoned and threaded onto bamboo sticks, grilled over glowing red charcoal. This dish is most delicious when the squid teeth are fresh, ensuring crispiness and much more allure when grilled. When the squid teeth turn a bright yellow color and emit a fragrant aroma, that's when they are fully cooked.

Grilled squid teeth are most popular when eaten with spicy satay sauce. The fiery red satay sauce, made at the stall, is poured over the skewers of squid teeth, creating an irresistibly tempting sight. A slightly more complex dish in preparation is stir-fried squid teeth with butter and garlic. This dish is often enjoyed with crispy rice paper and the rich flavor of dipping sauce, creating a novel taste. Grilled squid teeth have a strong aroma of squid, a chewy and crispy texture that is utterly enchanting. From a distance, you can easily sense the fragrance from these small grilled squid stalls. This dish is often served with cucumber and pickles to balance the flavors. Besides grilled squid teeth, in Binh Thuan, you can explore a myriad of other dishes made from squid teeth, such as squid teeth sausage, salt-grilled squid teeth, and spicy grilled squid teeth... Rest assured, each dish is super enticing, and with a bit of beer, it becomes even more delicious many times over.

When in the city of Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan, you cannot miss the dish of sour fish clam hot pot. This unique and delicious hot pot is renowned for its fresh and delightful ingredients from the local sea, making it an indispensable dish on the list of Binh Thuan's delicacies. The fish clam hot pot has been around for a while, and why does it have such a uniquely sour taste? According to local fishermen in Phan Thiet: “When fishing offshore, during mealtime, fishermen often catch fresh and delicious fish to cook on the boat with available ingredients such as tomatoes, pineapples, aromatic herbs, and onions to make a sour fish hot pot. Over time, the eating and cooking methods not only had to be delicious but also beautifully presented. Therefore, people in Phan Thiet changed the cooking method, creating the uniquely sour-flavored fish clam hot pot that is distinct from hot pots in other regions.” The fish clam (or cobia) scientifically known as Rachycentron canadum lives along the Vietnamese coast, including Phan Thiet - Binh Thuan.

This is a type of fish with white, sweet, and nutritious meat, making it the preferred choice of people in Phan Thiet to cook the fish clam hot pot. The main ingredients of this distinctive hot pot include thinly sliced fish and the fish's marinated roe, adding extra appeal to the pot. The fish clam hot pot is a harmonious combination of the sour taste of tomatoes and pineapples, the spicy flavor of chili, the aroma of sautéed garlic and onions, the bright red color of tomatoes, and a few herbs, finely chopped green onions. When the hot pot is cooked, the broth will have a rich, sweet, sour, slightly spicy taste, so when enjoying it, there is no strong smell of sea fish. The fish clam hot pot is accompanied by fresh vegetables such as banana blossoms, shredded water spinach, bitter vegetables, corn, thinly sliced mint, and fresh vermicelli, along with a cup of pure Phan Thiet fish sauce. Fish clam hot pot is not only delicious and uniquely flavored, but also the way of eating expresses the close-knit relationships among people. The hot pot is placed in the center over a red charcoal stove. When the broth boils, the fragrant aroma stimulates the taste buds, and everyone sits around the hot pot, picking vegetables and slices of fish for each other.