Eat rice with fish – Infonet

Mar 17, 2022 11:07 GMT+7

Having lived in London for a long time, I still can’t understand how an island surrounded by the sea and fresh seafood is so expensive and scarce. It doesn’t make up for my Saigon, although it’s not near the sea, but meals with fish are a daily routine that is too familiar in my family.

My parents are from the Central region, both my grandparents are near the sea, so they are used to eating fresh fish. What I remember most are the meals with the “composite” braised fish pot. Mom went to the market to meet a meal that sold “bucket” fish, ie all kinds of baby fish were weighed and sold together, she bought the whole pot. The plate of fish served is scad, croaker, tilapia… each has a different taste and softness, but the common stock creates enough excitement for the cubs to wave their chopsticks.

One day, when I was almost home from school, it suddenly rained heavily. I rushed home instead of looking for shelter. Mom opened the gate, saw that I was wet, then shouted a few sentences and then urged me to wipe my body so that we could eat together with the whole family. At that time there were no cell phones, children like me didn’t have watches, but every meal was packed with people. Mom also worked in shifts, but when we got home from school, we could smell food coming from the kitchen. My father also just came home from teaching and sat down at the dinner table to have enough time to take a nap and then go back to school to teach the afternoon shift.

The rainy day lunch at that time is somehow still imprinted in my mind. There are a few more dishes in the tray, but I only remember the strong smell of anchovy fish sauce, the plate of boiled green spinach, the steaming pot of steamed rice emitting a sweet aroma. Perhaps the feeling that I just got out of the rain and wind is still raging outside, the whole family is crowded, no one is missing, the empty stomach is filled to make the taste even more stimulating, all combined to create a feeling of safety, warmth and satiety.

Every day at the market, there are termite fish and barracuda, my mother makes fish cake soup. This dish took a lot of work, but of course my sister and I were very happy because it was so delicious. Termites, barracudas are cleaned and then scraped for white meat, marinated with spices and then brushed until very fine, black meat and minced skin, also marinated with spices and rolled into small balls. Half of the fish for soup, half of the cheeks flattened out for frying.

The fish is sweet, so just cooked with pineapple, tomatoes and seasoned with coriander is already very delicious. The bowl of soup was served with all colors, and the kids were spoiled for choice to pick up the black and white pellets.
Mom went away, I didn’t have time to ask for the secret, just remember that this fish cake is only delicious when making two types of termite and barracuda, I can’t remember what the ratio is because I rarely see two types in the market now. this fish.

Then there are fresh mackerel meals, mom makes mackerel in tomato sauce, mackerel cooked in hot sauce. When these two dishes are served on the tray, life is much brighter and more luxurious, but somehow I miss the rich taste and color of the braised fish pots. I also remember my grandmother’s braised fish pot. The scad is small, she does not store it like her mother, but leaves a lot of water to cook rice and roll rice paper. I rarely eat rice cooked by my grandmother because I am a grandchild from far away, but I can never forget my grandmother’s pot of braised fish. I have never tasted it a second time because I cannot describe its delicious and strange taste.

Grandma and mother are both far away, familiar fish meals are absent from the family’s dining table. My sister and I learned from friends other new ways of cooking fish: fish braised with turmeric, fish with laksa leaves, fish with pineapple, braised melon… strange and delicious.

Sometimes, I miss the fish dishes cooked by my grandmother and mother, but thinking about it carefully, I guess I just miss my mother and my grandmother, but what kind of braised fish, especially for a person living far away from home like me, they all taste good!

According to www.phunuonline.com.vn