Harvest Field Classic · Straw-Grilled Fish
Cá Lóc Nướng Trui
Photo: Memberofc1 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The fish is skewered and grilled whole without ever being scaled or gutted first — the charred skin is simply peeled away once it's cooked.
A whole snakehead fish is threaded lengthwise onto a bamboo stick and planted upright over a blazing pile of straw or rice husks until the outside chars black, then the burnt skin is peeled back to reveal moist, smoky flesh eaten wrapped in rice paper with herbs and dipped in tamarind or peanut sauce. It's a dish tied to the rhythms of the delta's rice fields, traditionally cooked right where the fish was caught.
Why it's made this way: The dish is closely associated with Mekong Delta farmers, who developed it as a way to cook fish caught straight from flooded rice paddies using nothing but the straw left over from harvest, with no oil, pans, or seasoning needed in the field.
More from Vietnam
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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