Vietnamese udon and fish cake

You still remember what I mean udon in my previous post?
It's just my simple association between Japanese udon and our big noodles! Bánh canh!
Vietnamese udon with fish cake or bánh canh chả cá is not really popular in Sài gòn compared to other dishes as bánh canh cua (Vietnamese udon with crab) or bánh canh giò heo (big noodles with pork knuckle)!

         Steamed & deep fried fish cake

              Steamed fish cake coated with duck egg york! 

But when I tried it, I like the taste - is not something very tasty, rich as crab or fatty as pork knuckle, udon with fish cake has a special lighter flavor! After the first bowl, I still can continue with the second bowl! That was a my impression when I had my Vietnamese udon with fish cake in Phan Thiết! Famous one!

Yes, this is a speciality from the central coast! Bánh canh chả cá is always served with two kinds of  fish cake: deep fried and steamed, besides that a piece of cooked fish, a tiny quail egg are also added! Everything taste good! 

                Big noodles with fish cake from famous stall "Xíu" in Phan Thiết 

              Big noodles with fish cake in Sài gòn! 

I love fish! I always eat fish as much as I can and everywhere I go!
That's why no wonder fish cake is always in my list! When I was kid, from time to time I followed my mother to the market nearby, I loved to stop by the fish cake stall, just to see how the vendor fried it in a big pan of oil, to smell the oily but very tasty fish cake!
I still remember the deep fried fish cake in a big chili, tomato, capsicum (ớt Đà Lạt) or bitter melon! Very colorful! At that time I wondered how can we eat fish cake in that big chili? Should be very spicy! Then much later I realized that big chili is not hot at all!

           Extra plate of deep fried & steamed fish cake! 

Fish cake in Phan Thiết is a bit different from what we have in Sài gòn! It's more chewy, not tender and probably less black pepper flavor but I'm sure it's more "original" fish in it!

Here are some photos of home made deep fried fish cake that we prepared for our dish at home - rice noodles with fish cake. We do it from time to time, esp. when we really don't want to have rice! Rice noodles with a lot of veggies! I love it!

            Deep fried home made fish cake!   

           Fish cake will be served with rice noodles (or vermicelli), spicy fish sauce & a lot of veggies! 

          And here you go! A big bowl of rice noodles & fish cake! 

If you go to Mũi Né, please stop by Phan Thiết and try big noodles with fish cake at Xíu (probably name of the owner!) 1HA Kim Đồng, KP2, Đức Nghĩa, tel: 062 3820 167 or mobile: 0942 287575, 0165 3718339! Open from 2:00PM!