Eel - a delicious dish of Nghe An

Eels live in mud and are omnivorous, easily infected with parasites, so they must be cooked and stir-fried thoroughly. Eels are processed into dozens of dishes such as vermicelli, soup, porridge, braised, stewed, grilled, stir-fried, hot pot, salad... Northern eels are small, about 4 inches long, weighing a few hundred grams. Southern eels often weigh a kilo.

Before cooking the eel, rub ash, lemon juice, and rice water on the eel's body, then wipe off the slime and rinse thoroughly with water. Or you can use warm water, soak for about 15 minutes to let the eel release its slime, then rinse with salt water.

Eel dishes are available in all provinces, but in Nghe An, eel is elevated to a tourist specialty and also a nostalgic dish for Nghe An people far from home.

Nghe An eel is a small freshwater eel, processed into many dishes, the most popular are soup, porridge, vermicelli, stir-fried, grilled. Simple processing but rich in rustic flavor.

Authentic eel soup must be cooked with broth from eel head and bones. Clean the eel, leave it in long pieces, stir-fry with shallots, garlic, annatto, turmeric until cooked, then simmer. When eating, scoop it into a bowl, add fresh onions and Vietnamese coriander, eat with hot bread, crispy rice paper, and wet rice paper.

Eel porridge must be cooked with whole grain rice, stewed until soft, not using finely ground rice or cold rice. Clean the eel, boil it until cooked, remove the bones, stir-fry with garlic, fry shallots (shallots) until fragrant, then add to the porridge. When eating, add a little pepper, chopped green onions, chili, turmeric powder to have a bowl of fragrant, golden yellow, hot eel porridge, blow on it and eat.

For eel vermicelli, you must use real dong vermicelli. The broth is clear and sweet, made from bones, eel heads (you can add chicken or pork bones), a little mushroom and a little ginger, crushed lemongrass. The eel meat is fresh, stir-fried with spices, cooked to perfection, and sweet. Arrange the vermicelli in a bowl, add the stir-fried eel on top, pour in the broth, add some fresh onions and fried onions and you have a delicious dish that warms your stomach.

The dish of eel with rice paper must be Do Luong rice paper, grilled over hot coals. The eel is cleaned, mixed with spices, stir-fried until soft with a rich sauce according to each restaurant's recipe. When eating, scoop it onto a plate, add herbs and roasted peanuts. Break the rice paper into small pieces, scoop the stir-fried eel, put it in your mouth, chew slowly, the delicious flavor spreads from the tip of your tongue.

Grilled eel is a bit more elaborate. The eel loin is spread thinly, marinated with turmeric, lemongrass, chili, etc. When grilled, there is a thin strand of fat rolled inside to prevent the eel from drying out, and the outside is wrapped in pandan leaves. It must be grilled over hot coals to bring out the aroma of the pandan leaves and the richly seasoned eel. Grilled eel served with white rice will only fill you up.

Nowadays, Nghe eel restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City not only prepare it properly but also import ingredients from their hometown, from eel, rice paper, shallots to other spices, so it is as delicious as in Vinh city.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/diem-den-hap-dan/luon-dong-mon-ngon-xu-nghe-20201224205740372.htm