Riverside Grill · Whole Fish on Charcoal

Grilled Mekong Fish (Ping Pa)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo: shankar s. / Flickr · CC BY 2.0

At the nearby Khone Falls, fishermen rig bamboo traps and walkways across the rapids to catch fish swimming up the Mekong.

A whole river fish is scored, stuffed with lemongrass and herbs, and grilled over charcoal until the skin blisters and chars, then pulled apart by hand and eaten with sticky rice and a chili-lime dip. It's sold at riverside stalls throughout the braided channels of Si Phan Don.

Why it's made this way: The Mekong's braided channels around Si Phan Don have supported fishing villages for generations, and grilling the catch whole over charcoal remains the simplest way for riverside vendors to serve it fresh.