cha ca la vong

 Not really as famous as the above dishes, but Cha Ca is ranked 2nd in the list of 40 most delicious dishes in Vietnamese cuisine by CNN. Nowadays, Cha Ca is no longer popular, but Cha Ca was once a street food, for wealthy families in big cities.

Cha ca is a dish made from fish, similar to pork rolls but replacing pork with fish. The most famous fish cake dish is La Vong fish cake. The origin of La Vong fish cake originates from Hanoi during the Indochina period. At that time, there was a family of the Doan family at 14 Hang Son who married the De Tham insurgent army at their house, often making a delicious fish dish to treat the insurgents. After that, De Tham and the insurgents helped the owner open a fish cake shop, both for the owner to make a living, and to serve as a meeting place for the army. In the restaurant, there is always a statue of Mr. La Vong – Khuong Tu Nha bent down to fish, implying that a talented person is waiting for an opportunity. The restaurant’s dish became famous, called La Vong fish cake.

La Vong fish cake has a relatively sophisticated way of making. The fish used is usually fresh lentils, with sweet, aromatic meat, little bones. The fish is filtered by slicing from the sides, then marinated with esoteric spices with galangal, turmeric, batch, pepper, fish sauce… The fish must be soaked for two hours, then grilled on a red flame, turning it over and over again. the sides are equally golden. After baking, put the rolls in the fat pan again, stir in the boiling fat, when fragrant, cut the dill and herbs, stir well, mix. Because of the sophisticated way of making, La Vong fish cake was once a gift for well-off families. Up to now, La Vong fish cake is still a famous dish in Hanoi.