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

  • Banh Canh

    Bánh canh is one of the purest, simplest soups in Vietnamese Cuisine, with a clear, full-flavored pork stock and a wonderful mix of textures.  A bowl of...

  • Bien Mai Scallop

    The unique feature of the dishes from Bien Mai Scallop is the combination between fresh coi bien mai and spices with the method of cooking that make it become very famous....

  • Top 10 Street Drinks in Hanoi

    Hanoi is not only famous for street foods but also for cool and healthy street drinks.

  • Khau Thuy Cake

    Khau Thuy cake is a specialty food of  Bac Kan and an indispensible food in Long Tong festival to worship the gods and hope for good weather and harvest.

  • 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...

  • 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.

  • Halong Snails

    Favored by the Mother Nature as an unbelievably beautiful coastal province, Halong is famous for its variety of fresh and delicious seafood specialties such as crabs, prawns,...

  • Egg coffee in Hanoi

    Egg coffee (cà phê trứng) is a Vietnamese beverage which is traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and Robusta coffee. The drink is...

  • Bo bia

    Bo bia is one of those street snacks that tends to be overlooked by the average travelling street muncher. Maybe it’s due to its similarity in appearance to goi cuon,...

  • Quang noodle (My Quang)

    Quang noodle (Mỳ Quảng) is one of the most famous specialties of Hoi An food. This dish’s ingredients include rice, vegetables and met but the way of cooking and...

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