Glorious sun-dried salted catfish (khô cá tra)

There is always many sudden incidents in our life, some we may expect, some really out of a clear blue sky! Week ago that happened to me, everything have been blown off course! It's like a ridiculous joke from those people I've met! Anyway I already learnt how to leave negative things aside and to move on! So to get rid of that "incident", I decided to go to Long Xuyen with friends last weekend!

I've rarely been sick during the trip but this time it was really bad! I though I got a normal cold early in the morning and it should pass quickly during the day! But afternoon when we arrived to Long Xuyen, it was so hot, to avoid the summer heat, we though to escape to a fish farm on the small island (cồn) nearby could be the best! But it turned out to be worse! It was so windy and made me fell like a dead man!

Long Xuyen is a big city in Mekong Delta, probably, one of the richest cities in that area. I and my architect-friend stayed at Cuu Long hotel, at 400,000 VND per night. Two beds, shower room with bathtub, including a breakfast - a cheap one!

We arrived to my friend's grandfather house in Long Xuyên around 2PM. It's quite large countryside wooden house in a big garden. We had quick good duck curry with good bread right in a typical countryside kitchen that reminds me of the old days: the smell, the two charcoal stoves, the atmosphere!

The curry we had was a leftover from the lunch, but it was good, tasty as it cooked in coconut sauce. I was too tired to take any photos, only until we were on a ferry to the island to visit a catfish farm and to a dinner place in downtown later in the evening!

              Sun-dried salted catfish from fish farm on the island

Catfish or we call cá tra is a popular fish for everyday family meal, especially to cook a famous sour soup "canh chua" or braised catfish in a clay pot "cá kho tộ". I specially love dried salted catfish, khô cá tra, a bit salty, but when we fry and have it together with plain rice ...very very good!

              Fresh catfish has been salted and dried for few days on the sun...

I heard that Thai have a sun dried salted fish called Pla-kem, very stinky so I really have no idea as being Vietnamese, I may not smell it...from this sun-dried catfish, probably slightly strong smell! To be honest, when it fried, without adding any other ingredients, , I keep eating it with just hot boiled rice!  

                  cut it into small pieces and fry...and ready to serve! 

Catfish has a big fatty part, some people like it, but to me, the best one is the skin, if we can make it crispy when we fry...so gooood! This salted fish is the most important ingredient (after rice!) for famous fried rice with salted fish "cơm chiên cá mặn" in many classy Chinese restaurants!

                  Have it with plain rice... a bit salty, crispy skin and so tasty!   

In the evening, after fish farm we went back to the city...After a quick shower and quick refreshment with sugarcane juice right on the street we went for dinner at a popular spot in Long Xuyen!

Here's our typical Vietnamese family meal (lunch or dinner!) in Long Xuyên: sour soup with catfish, braised fish in a clay pot with caramel sauce, stirred veggies...

             Most popular soup dish in every Vietnamese family - sour soup or canh chua  

            ...can be cooked with catfish, tomato, pineapple, bean sprouts, giant elephant ear   
                                                     stems (bạc hà), okra (đậu bắp)... sour taste from tamarind paste!  

            My all-time favorite fish braised in a clay pot with caramel sauce and black pepper, 

                                                                                                                      here also catfish!

          

               Flower Thiên Lý (literally thousands miles flower or tonkin jasmine) is favorite stir dish! 

            Eel stirred with wood ear mushroom, onion...in a curry & coconut sauce! (Lươn xào lăn) 

After dinner we still went to one place where they serve a special dessert from Mekong delta: sweet dessert soup with grapefruit's inner skin "chè bưởi". One of the best that I have ever tried! That I will share with you in another post!