Keo fish hotpot impresses diners with its delicate broth, aromatic fish meat and characteristic vegetables of the rural south. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA/VNS) - With an abundance of seafood, southerners havecreated a wide variety of dishes featuring fish in various modes - stewed fish,grilled fish, fermented fish, fish vermicelli and, of course, the ubiquitousfish sauce.
The aromatic, juicy Ca keo (pseudapocryptes elongatus), one ofthe southerners’ favourite fish, is used for grilling and hotpot. “Keo fish hotpotoriginates in the south of Vietnam and has been one of the highlights of thesouthern rural kitchen,” said culinary expert Le Kim Chi from the Quan AnNgon restaurants chain.
Keo fish is a type of catfish the size of about two fingers andabout 15 cm long when it is mature. This fish is found mostly in Soc Trang, BacLieu and Ca Mau provinces.
Writer and journalist Phan Trung Nghia from Bac Lieu province once wrote: “Inthe early 19th century, Bac Lieu was a characteristic province of the MekongRiver Delta with scores of rivers, streams and canals. Many rivers stemmed fromthe sea, therefore there was an abundance of seafood there.
“In the lead-up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, when slightly cold weathercomes, keo fish season begins. In local canals andrivers, keo fish is so abundant that the fish heads emergingfrom the water look like dense black spots on the surface of water.
“Keo fish grow very quickly. It is as thin as a toothpick atthe beginning of the rainy season and becomes as big as a thumb at the end ofthe season. At that time, a day’s catch could reach 500 to 700 kilogrammesof keo fish, so much that no boat was big enough to storethem,” wrote Nghia.
The fish has since become a favourite of not only people in the south but alsofood connoisseurs in Hanoi, said Chi.
Chi has brought many southern dishes, including keo fishhotpot, to her Quan An Ngon restaurants in Hanoi. “Hanoians fall for this dishvery quickly,” she said.
To make authentic keo fish hotpot, Chi, like other cooks, hasto import keo from the south and keep them alive until theyare cooked. “The prerequisite requirement for this dish is for the fish to befresh and live,” said Chi.
“Fish is to be eaten a few minutes after being put in the broth because thistype of fish is small and long and therefore it is cooked very quickly,” saidchef Nguyen Xuan Luyen from Quan An Ngon.
As keo fish do not have anterior dorsal fins, they don’t havelittle bones. Despite its unattractive look, the fish meat is delicious — beingsoft in texture and having a unique aroma of a fish living in nature, an aromathat is rarely present in frozen fish.
Normally, when cooking fish, Vietnamese people add seasonings or specific typesof vegetables to reduce the fishy smell, for example pepper, rau ram (Vietnamesecoriander) or pineapple or dam bong (rice wine residue). “In keofish hotpot, locals use their la giang (river-leaf creeper) and tamarind, whichhelp to add sourness. Some replace tamarind with either lemon or vinegar, yetthese two are not a good choice as lemon may cause a bit of sourness when it isadded to hot water while vinegar is not as delicate as tamarind,” said Luyen.
Therefore, there is no fishy smell in the broth. Instead, the first whirl ofsteam from the boiling broth will make diners’ mouth water. Taking a first sipof broth is never enough, arousing curiosity and a desire for more of theslightly sour, salted, sweet and a bit garlicky meaty fish.
The ingredients and preparation of Vietnamese hotpots are simple: broth made bysimmering pork bone, (different types of) meat, various kinds of vegetable andvermicelli noodles with broth at the end of the meal. While lau bap bo (beefthigh hotpot) features the tenderness of beef, the seafood hotpot indulgesdiners with the sweet meaty broth, lau mam (salted fermentedfish hotpot) features the pleasantly pungent and characteristic aroma of saltedfermented fish, keo fish hotpot impresses diners by itsdelicate broth, aromatic fish meat and characteristic vegetables of the ruralsouth.
The keo fish hotpot broth is made by simmering pork bonewith la giang (river-leaf creeper) which tastes sour and has agood aroma. Other vegetables served in this hotpot include rau dang (bittervegetable), banana flower, keo neo (yellow burrhead), waterlily and water spinach. Locals also cook keo fish with pepperor rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), or grill the fish withchilli and salt.-VNA
The aromatic, juicy Ca keo (pseudapocryptes elongatus), one ofthe southerners’ favourite fish, is used for grilling and hotpot. “Keo fish hotpotoriginates in the south of Vietnam and has been one of the highlights of thesouthern rural kitchen,” said culinary expert Le Kim Chi from the Quan AnNgon restaurants chain.
Keo fish is a type of catfish the size of about two fingers andabout 15 cm long when it is mature. This fish is found mostly in Soc Trang, BacLieu and Ca Mau provinces.
Writer and journalist Phan Trung Nghia from Bac Lieu province once wrote: “Inthe early 19th century, Bac Lieu was a characteristic province of the MekongRiver Delta with scores of rivers, streams and canals. Many rivers stemmed fromthe sea, therefore there was an abundance of seafood there.
“In the lead-up to the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, when slightly cold weathercomes, keo fish season begins. In local canals andrivers, keo fish is so abundant that the fish heads emergingfrom the water look like dense black spots on the surface of water.
“Keo fish grow very quickly. It is as thin as a toothpick atthe beginning of the rainy season and becomes as big as a thumb at the end ofthe season. At that time, a day’s catch could reach 500 to 700 kilogrammesof keo fish, so much that no boat was big enough to storethem,” wrote Nghia.
The fish has since become a favourite of not only people in the south but alsofood connoisseurs in Hanoi, said Chi.
Chi has brought many southern dishes, including keo fishhotpot, to her Quan An Ngon restaurants in Hanoi. “Hanoians fall for this dishvery quickly,” she said.
To make authentic keo fish hotpot, Chi, like other cooks, hasto import keo from the south and keep them alive until theyare cooked. “The prerequisite requirement for this dish is for the fish to befresh and live,” said Chi.
“Fish is to be eaten a few minutes after being put in the broth because thistype of fish is small and long and therefore it is cooked very quickly,” saidchef Nguyen Xuan Luyen from Quan An Ngon.
As keo fish do not have anterior dorsal fins, they don’t havelittle bones. Despite its unattractive look, the fish meat is delicious — beingsoft in texture and having a unique aroma of a fish living in nature, an aromathat is rarely present in frozen fish.
Normally, when cooking fish, Vietnamese people add seasonings or specific typesof vegetables to reduce the fishy smell, for example pepper, rau ram (Vietnamesecoriander) or pineapple or dam bong (rice wine residue). “In keofish hotpot, locals use their la giang (river-leaf creeper) and tamarind, whichhelp to add sourness. Some replace tamarind with either lemon or vinegar, yetthese two are not a good choice as lemon may cause a bit of sourness when it isadded to hot water while vinegar is not as delicate as tamarind,” said Luyen.
Therefore, there is no fishy smell in the broth. Instead, the first whirl ofsteam from the boiling broth will make diners’ mouth water. Taking a first sipof broth is never enough, arousing curiosity and a desire for more of theslightly sour, salted, sweet and a bit garlicky meaty fish.
The ingredients and preparation of Vietnamese hotpots are simple: broth made bysimmering pork bone, (different types of) meat, various kinds of vegetable andvermicelli noodles with broth at the end of the meal. While lau bap bo (beefthigh hotpot) features the tenderness of beef, the seafood hotpot indulgesdiners with the sweet meaty broth, lau mam (salted fermentedfish hotpot) features the pleasantly pungent and characteristic aroma of saltedfermented fish, keo fish hotpot impresses diners by itsdelicate broth, aromatic fish meat and characteristic vegetables of the ruralsouth.
The keo fish hotpot broth is made by simmering pork bonewith la giang (river-leaf creeper) which tastes sour and has agood aroma. Other vegetables served in this hotpot include rau dang (bittervegetable), banana flower, keo neo (yellow burrhead), waterlily and water spinach. Locals also cook keo fish with pepperor rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), or grill the fish withchilli and salt.-VNA
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