Fish jumps in the throat

Son La is the long-lived land of 12 ethnic groups, each ethnic group has its own cultural identity, unique and similar, perhaps but the dishes in Son La have unmixed flavors. , especially Thai people.

The people here have a very rich and unique culinary culture. From familiar ingredients such as upland buffalo, stream fish, Son La people create very strange processing methods to keep the natural flavor of the dish.

With buffalo guarding the kitchen, rice lam, pa pining, each dish leaves a mark in the hearts of diners who come here thanks to its new taste. However, there is a dish few people know but extremely special that is the jumping fish salad.

Although the cooking method is quite simple, it is picky about eating, so it is not popular in many localities. The difference of this dish is in a very strange way of eating. Fish must be raw, prepared and eaten at the table.

According to Thai people in Son La, the best fish to cook jumping fish is baby carp. That is why it is so much the wet rice season, when the carp spawning season begins. They take carp eggs clinging to water hyacinth flowers and drop them into the field, in the flowering season, the rice flowers fall into the water, and the fish can only eat that rice flower, so it is very clean. When the rice blooms, people catch fish in the field and bring it home to cook jumping fish.

To have a standard jumping fish dish, people must choose fish that are raised in natural ponds or caught in source streams, far from residential areas. The fish caught must be alive, put in a pot of clean water to see that it is still swimming well to meet the requirements. More sophisticated, some people wash the fish thoroughly and then soak it in a basin of salt water so that the fish can excrete all the dirty things inside. Then they brought it out and washed it with salt water again.

A delicious salad cannot be lacking in seasoning. Jumping fish salad must be eaten with fresh banana core, herbs (coriander, basil, dill, marjoram …), spices with fish sauce, salt, main noodles, garlic, chili and especially indispensable mac Khen seeds. Thai special seasoning). All must be chopped to form a mixture of sour, spicy, strong, sweet and characteristic aroma.

Processing is simple, but enjoying is the challenge for diners coming here.

To eat fish salad, people catch fish from the pot, use a small knife to quickly cut the fish’s belly, squeeze the intestines out and then quickly drop it into the accompanying mixture. Each eater uses a small spoon to scoop fish with banana cores and sour water to bring to their mouths to enjoy.

Just listening to it, many people grimaced in horror, how scared to see it with their own eyes. For those who have never known jumping fish, this is a strange dish, it is difficult to imagine the taste. In addition, not many people dare to put a piece of raw fish in their mouth to enjoy immediately.

However, gourmets will immediately recognize the unique taste on the tip of the tongue, which is the crisp, sweet taste of fish meat and the spicy taste of garlic and chili, the taste of pangolin on the tip of the tongue and the strong aroma of macadamia nuts. smart. The spices will overwhelm the fishy taste of the fish, leaving only the crunchy, aromatic and fleshy taste of the meat and accompanying vegetables.

Dancing fish is quite popular among Thai families in Son La, especially when there are distinguished guests. In particular, people often eat fish salad at noon with the participation of many people in a cozy and united atmosphere. This is also a good cultural tradition that is always kept by the people.

Many people, when witnessing the processing, think that this is a dish that is unsafe and unhygienic. However, for the Thai ethnic group, this is a dish that is rarely lacking in every family meal, it shows the identity and culture passed down from generation to generation.

So, if you are a gourmet with enough courage, don’t hesitate to bring your backpack to Son La and try this “horror” specialty right away.