Taste of Homeland: 'Sneaky' Specialties

Sitting on the sidewalk eating "xò bì" (fishy food), the sea breeze makes people forget all the fatigue after a day of work.

Along Doc Lap Street (Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen ) every afternoon, pushcarts sell steaming, fragrant "xô loi" (sticky rice cakes). This afternoon snack is not only popular with young people but also with the elderly.

"Pierced" served with raw vegetables, cucumber, sour mango and chili fish sauce. NGAN TRAN

"Xò loi" is a simple name for a snack dish including: skewered meat, meat wrapped in betel leaves and spring rolls grilled over charcoal, served with raw vegetables and spicy fish sauce with garlic and chili.

Skewered meat is thinly sliced pork, the meat is selected from the lean shoulder, marinated with satay, and a little annatto oil is added to prevent it from drying out when grilled. Meat wrapped in lolot leaves is minced pork, marinated with spices to taste, then rolled in lolot leaves and grilled until the edges are golden brown and fragrant.

The most unique dish is the spring roll skewer. Spring roll is prepared very simply, minced pork, add lots of lemongrass, stir-fry until cooked then roll in rice paper. Cut the rice paper into small pieces, put the filling in and wrap it into a square shape, this step requires skillful hands. The spring roll is grilled with the smell of lemongrass, crispy in the mouth.

The soul of this dish is the dipping sauce. Phu Yen people eat spicy food, so the fish sauce is always full of chili and garlic. The fish sauce is a bit sticky, with a sweet taste to eat with sour mango. Take a lettuce leaf, add a piece of cucumber, sour mango, roll it up, dip it in the fish sauce and enjoy.

Ms. Tran Thu Ha (in Ward 2, Tuy Hoa City) shared: "Studying far from home, I especially miss this dish. Every time I come home for holidays or summer, I take the opportunity to eat it. Every afternoon, I pass by the carts, the aroma is unbearable."

Not only locals are crazy about "xò loi" but tourists who come to Phu Yen to try it once are also addicted. "I have been traveling in Phu Yen for 3 days, every afternoon I come here to eat grilled skewers. I especially like spring rolls, they are both delicious and cheap. The grilled rice paper is crispy, the smell of lemongrass is fragrant, rolled with vegetables and dipped in fish sauce is very attractive. The grilled meat skewers and beef wrapped in betel leaves are also very delicious", said Ms. Nguyen Kim Hien (tourist from Ho Chi Minh City).

Hot "xò loi" skewers served with a basket of vegetables, a piece of vegetable and a piece of "xò loi" dipped in fish sauce, simple but extremely delicious. Not only delicious, "xò loi" in Tuy Hoa is also very cheap, only 5,000 VND/stick, 30,000 VND to bring along and you will be full.

Adolescent

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