This season in the West, people love grilled linh fish with betel leaves, and hot pot with a kilo of field crab.

Linh fish and betel leaves are a unique combination to create a delicious grilled dish - Photo: DANG TUYET

Those were the days when the red-hot charcoal stove sent the smell of golden grilled fish wafting throughout the neighborhood.

Or it's the drizzling days when the whole family gathers around to enjoy a steaming bowl of crab noodle soup with rich, caramel-colored broth, delicious to the last bite.

All from fish and hometown vegetables.

Grilled linh fish wrapped in lolot leaves - Photo: DANG TUYET

Grilled linh fish with betel leaves

Entering mid-October (ie September of the lunar calendar), the linh fish has grown as big as a thumb, at this time it is transformed from braised dishes, hot pot, sour soup... to grilled dishes. Grilled linh fish with betel leaves brings an unforgettable rich flavor.

First, clean the intestines of the linh fish, marinate it with MSG, pepper, and fish sauce. Buy the betel leaves at the market or ask your neighbor for a handful of about 40-50 large, bite-sized leaves, because if the leaves are too young, they will not have a distinctive aroma, and if the leaves are too old, they will be tough.

Grilled linh fish with lolot leaves must be eaten immediately after being taken off the charcoal stove to be delicious - Photo: DANG TUYET

Wash and drain the betel leaves, then roll the fish into a ball and place it directly on the charcoal stove. You can use toothpicks to secure it nicely so the leaves don't come apart when grilled.

Grilled fish is usually dipped in sweet and sour tamarind fish sauce. Prepare a charcoal stove and grill fresh tamarind until the skin cracks. When the tamarind is soft and ripe, mash it in fish sauce, remove the seeds and skin, then add sugar and stir well.

Grilled fresh tamarind is used to make tamarind fish sauce to eat with grilled fish - Photo: DANG TUYET

A bowl of sweet and sour tamarind fish sauce, thick with the aroma of fish sauce and spicy chili, is delicious to dip grilled fish in.

But in the West, the tamarind sauce bowl often includes the whole tamarind soaked in fish sauce and sugar. The slight bitterness of the peel and the remaining fresh tamarind seeds will bring a very different and unforgettable flavor.

Grilled freshwater fish with tamarind fish sauce - Photo: DANG TUYET

Homemade crab noodle soup

Now crab noodle soup is a year-round dish in the West. At any time of the year, visitors to An Giang , Can Tho, Dong Thap can enjoy fragrant bowls of noodles right on the roadside or in famous restaurants.

But in the flood season, there are many field crabs, so the crab noodle soup is richer and sweeter.

Homemade crab noodle soup pot is enough for 6-7 people - Photo: DANG TUYET

A pot of crab noodle soup for 6 people needs about 4 liters of broth, the main ingredient is about 500g of crab, you can increase the amount of crab to 800g or 1kg depending on the conditions. Crush the crab and mix it with water, then strain out the shell.

Add curry seeds to hot oil, then remove the curry seeds and add minced garlic until fragrant, add the prepared crab stock to the pot, wait for the water to boil then reduce heat to low.

The crab meat sticks together in large patches floating on the surface of the pot of water with the annatto color of the curry seeds making the crab noodle soup more eye-catching.

Depending on the taste of the diner, add pork skin, pork bones, squid, shrimp, quail eggs, snails... and some tubers such as radish, cassava to increase the sweetness of the broth.

Crab noodle soup is delicious thanks to the accompanying vegetables - Photo: DANG TUYET

Bun rieu is delicious when eaten with lots of vegetables. This season, there are morning glory, water mimosa flowers, and banana flowers in the fields. Buy bean sprouts, tomatoes, and basil leaves too.

The way to blanch vermicelli with crab soup is also very simple, put chopped water spinach and bean sprouts at the bottom of the bowl then place the vermicelli on top.

This season's homemade crab noodle soup has water mimosa flowers and field snails served with shrimp paste - Photo: DANG TUYET

Scoop the crab broth to fill the bowl, then drain the water once, add the vegetables, bean sprouts and noodles while still hot. The last time, scoop the bowl full with crab, meat, snails, then add some banana blossoms, water mimosa flowers and basil leaves and it's done.

On a drizzly afternoon, the whole family sat around the fire, enjoying a bowl of steaming crab noodle soup, and never forgot it.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mien-tay-mua-nay-thuong-con-ca-linh-nuong-la-lot-noi-rieu-dieu-kien-ca-ky-cua-dong-20241021110504274.htm