The taste of the sea
Raw herring salad sounds simple but leaves a lasting impression. Food-lovers will appreciate the sophisticated blend of herbs and spices perfected by generations of cooks on Phu Quoc Island.
Although raw herring salad is now available in many upscale restaurants nationwide, it tastes different when enjoyed in its island birthplace. The first difference lies in the dipping sauce. While it retains its familiar tangy, spicy, and mildly sweet taste, a plate of authentic Phu Quoc herring salad sauce has a uniquely sour flavor. According to local elders, the sourness does not come from lime, tamarind, or starfruit, but from another specialty of the Emerald Island – fermented shrimp. After being finely ground and filtered, minced garlic and chili are added, along with some granulated sugar, and finely crushed roasted peanuts. This results in a thick sauce that adheres effortlessly to the salad roll, delivering a robust flavor.
The herring used is always freshly caught. The cook cleans the fish and scrapes off the scales, removes both fillets and marinates them in lime juice until they “cook” and turn an opaque white. The fish is drained and set aside. The process of preparing the lime juice is meticulous. The lime is thoroughly peeled and the seeds removed, before it is finely ground. Thus, it lacks the bitterness of the peel, yet retains a sour essence. The rice papers are also softened in a unique way, using juice from a shredded coconut, which makes the rice papers chewy and imbues them with a pleasantly rich flavor.
Like the old saying, “A single fish whets the appetite for a bounty of vegetables”, a genuine Phu Quoc herring salad demands the right herbs. The dish features cucumbers sliced lengthwise, pineapples cut crosswise to keep some crispy pulp, chives, Garcinia oliveri shoots (bứa rừng), and various aromatic herbs. Some thinly shredded mature coconut meat is key.
Diners put a little of every ingredient onto a piece of rice paper, add the marinated anchovies, and roll everything into a perfect bite-sized morsel. Before eating, this salad roll is dipped into the thick sauce.
The result is an ecstasy of sounds, flavors, and colors. The delicate crunch of the fresh vegetables mixes with the rich taste of mature coconut, tender and fragrant fish, and rich peanuts. Each bite bursts with sour, spicy, sweet, and buttery richness that’s truly delicious.
Long after they’ve left the Emerald Island, visitors will remember enjoying a dish of raw herring salad beside the vast blue sea.
