Goi ca mai (Mai fish salad)

Vung Tau is not home to Mai fish salad but when talking about Vung Tau cuisine, people can't not remember about this dish. And Mai fish salad becomes one of the most attractive dishes in Vung Tau. 

Mai fish is quite like anchovies, white body, small less fishy so that people often use it to make salad. For locals, the best goi ca mai is when selecting the freshest alive Mai fish – the fresher it is, the more delicious the salad will be.

After being caught, Mai fish will be shaved off all flakes. It need to be boneless to be very absorptive marinated.

 

The ingredients to marinate are quite simple such as vinegar, garlic, lemon and chili. When fish is medium-rare, it will be mixed with some “bột thính” (a kind of brown rice flavor), peanuts to raise the smell.

This salad is served with fresh vegetables and rice papers. The sauce of this dish includes garlic, minced chili, sugar, lemon, vinegar, fish sauce, crushed peanuts, soda or shrimp sauce.

 

Pick up a handful of salad and some vegetables to a thin rice paper, roll up, dip into sauce, diners will feel the unique taste, along with fish’s sweetness is sauce’s light salty, spicy chili, sour lime, fat taste of roasted peanuts and rice paper.

Although the ingredients seem simple, making a delicious sauce or not is all about the art.

See more

  • Chao Canh (Soup Porridge)

    Like the characteristics of people in Quang Binh as rusticity, honesty, chao canh is unsightly and gaudy as Pho in Hanoi but its taste is very unique and strange. Central...

  • Goat Meat

    Traveling far and double-quick with poetic and fascinating landscapes in Ninh Binh without enjoying speciality of Ninh Binh goat meat is synonymous that you have not yet...

  • Bun thit nuong

    At first glance, a bowl of bun thit nuong can look a bit manic. A sprinkling of garnishes along with grilled meat are placed on top of a bed of noodles with some greens poking...

  • Western food in Halong Bay

    Similar to any other famous tourism cities in the world, besides its delicious local specialties Ha Long has a wide range of Western cuisine dishes to serve the increasing...

  • Goi ca trich (Herring salad)

    Vung Tau is famous for Mai fish salad, Danang is famous for Nam O fish salad and Phu Quoc is famous for herring salad. It is a harmonious combination of the sour,...

  • Bun Bo Hue

    As the name suggests, this dish is a noodle soup that comes from Hue —the former capital of Vietnam and bun bo Hue is one of the most famous food in the...

  • Tam bi cake

    Banh tam bi is a specialty and one of the most famous rustic food in Can Tho. This cake is very delicious with the harmonious taste between sweet and saltiness. 

  • Bun rieu

    Bun rieu is one of the lesser-known noodle soups in Vietnamese cuisine, perhaps due to its rather unappealing hodge-podge, thrown-together appearance. However, each part of...

  • Ca Phe Sua Da

    Ca phe sua da is said in Vietnam to be a bridge between those who enjoy drinking it together. Popular belief holds that it makes things easier to say, helps people to relax...

  • Bun Mam Thit Quay

    Bun Man, a popular and simple dish of Da Nang people has become an unforgettable dish to many travelers to this coastal city.

Most popular tours

Business info

  • Vietnam Local Guide

  • Address: 18th Floor, VTC Online Tower, 18 Tam Trinh Str.,Hai Ba Trung Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Email: info@vietnamguider.com
  • Phone: (+84) 0904989890
  • Hotline: (+84) 0904989890