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

  • Sapa Thang Co

    “Thang co” is one of the most famous dishes of the H’Mong in the northwest of Vietnam. “Thang co” usually use for festival or special day. On the...

  • The street foods under 10000 VND

    Hanoi - especially the food - centric ones - notice the constant presence of edible stuff on their strolls around the Old Quarter and further afield. Street - side meat,...

  • Cap Nach Pigs

    At the fair of Lao Cai, you can easily see local people selling small pigs whose weight is less than 20kg so that people can put into the baskets, even put in the armpits....

  • Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa

    Talking about the cuisine of Nha Trang, people will surely mention "nem nướng" (girlled nem) Ninh Hoa or Nha Trang. Nem Nuong Nha Trang is also known as  the...

  • 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,...

  • Trang Tien Ice - Cream

    Trang Tien ice cream is well known for its special flavour, which a countless number of Hanoi generations have a passion for. Visitors who have an opportunity to visit Hanoi...

  • The best street foods in Saigon

    One of the best things that tourists can do when traveling to Saigon is try all the best street foods is not just looking around and visiting the amazing historical...

  • 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. 

  • Quai Vac cake

    Quai Vac cake has been existed for a long time and is sold along the streets in Phan Thiet . It is a rustic dish and delicious tasty. 

  • Banh tam bi Bac Lieu

    There are many different places to sell banh tam bi but banh tam bi in Bac Lieu has an special taste that makes it become a famous food with both domestic and foreign...

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