Chả cá Lã Vọng

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Chả cá Lã Vọng
CourseMain
Place of origin Vietnam
Region or state Hanoi
Created byDoan family
Inventedc. 1800s
Main ingredients Hemibagrus fish
Ingredients generally used Turmeric-based sauce (inc. shrimp paste or fish sauce, ginger, and chili peppers) and herbs (e.g., dill, scallions or basil)

Cha ca La Vong (Chả cá Lã Vọng in Vietnamese) is a Vietnamese grilled fish dish originally from Hanoi. [1] The dish is traditionally made with hemibagrus (cá lăng in Vietnamese), which is a genus of catfish. [2] The fish is cut into pieces and marinated with turmeric, galangal, fermented rice and other ingredients. It is then grilled over charcoal and served at the table in a hot pan coated with oil with scallion and dill. It is then eaten with bún noodles, [3] fresh herbs, peanuts and a pungent shrimp-based sauce called mắm tôm. [1] [4] [5] Chả Cá Lá Vọng is considered a Hanoi delicacy, as it is nearly exclusively served in restaurants and is not found in street food. [2]

Contents

History

In the 19th century, the Đoàn family living in the Old city of Hanoi were known to prepare grilled fish for their neighbors. The dish became so popular that the local community helped the family open an eatery at 17 Hàng Sơn Street in 1871. [6] [7] [3] The restaurant was colloquially named Chả cá Lã Vọng or Lã Vọng grilled fish. The name refers to a statue (displayed inside the shop) of "Lã Vọng" or Trương Tử Nha, an 11th century BC Zhou dynasty strategist, Trương Tử Nha fishing was a legend that symbolized the patient wait for a talented people. [3]

The small restaurant was managed by Doan Phuc and his wife Bi Van. In its early days, it was a meeting place and hideout for anti-colonial rebels. [7] However, the restaurant soon became popular with aristocrats and colonial troops of French Indochina. [1] [8] The restaurant became so popular that Hàng Sơn Street was later renamed Grilled Fish Lane or Phố Chả Cá. [1]

The original Chả Cá Lã Vọng restaurant is still in business today, where it only serves its signature dish, and guests eat from charcoal burners at communal tables. [4] The restaurant was listed as a destination in the book 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die. [3]

Contemporary interpretations

The dish has left a strong impression on food critics and bloggers. As explained by Florence Fabricant, "The combination of ingredients — turmeric, dill, shrimp paste and fish sauce — delivers an intriguing muskiness bolstered with chiles, silky noodles and a thicket of other fresh herbs to season the chunks of moist fish. My memories are still vivid after 10 years." [4]

Some chefs have developed their own interpretation of the dish, particularly in places where hemibragus may be less common. In the United States, some restaurants serve the dish with a variety of fish types and cooking styles, including: grilled catfish satay, grilled basa, grilled tilapia, whole broiled flounder, and halibut salad. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamese cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages originated from Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes : sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish reflects one or more elements, which are also based around a five-pronged philosophy. Vietnamese recipes use ingredients like lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime, and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking has often been characterised as using fresh ingredients, not using much dairy or oil, having interesting textures, and making use of herbs and vegetables. The cuisine is also low in sugar and is almost always naturally gluten-free, as many of the dishes are rice-based instead of wheat-based, made with rice noodles, rice papers and rice flour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pho</span> Vietnamese noodle soup dish

Phở or pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat – usually beef, and sometimes chicken. Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street-stalls, and restaurants country-wide. Residents of the city of Nam Định were the first to create Vietnamese traditional phở. It is considered Vietnam's national dish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice vermicelli</span> Thin dried noodles made of rice

Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks", but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rather than rice grains themselves.

<i>Bánh xèo</i> Vietnamese stuffed pancake

Bánh xèo is a crispy, stuffed rice pancake popular in Vietnam. The name refers to the sound a thin layer of rice batter makes when it is poured into the hot skillet. It is a savoury fried pancake made of rice flour, water, and turmeric powder. It can also be called a Vietnamese crêpe. Some common stuffings include pork, prawns, diced green onion, mung bean, and bean sprouts. Bánh xèo is often served with sides. Usually, some commonly added ingredients include leafy greens like lettuces or perilla leaves, other herbs as flavor enhancers like mint leaves and Thai basil, cucumbers, and pickled vegetables, usually carrots and radishes. Lastly, its dipping sauce is nước chấm. Elements of each side and sauce add to the fresh-tasting fried Bánh Xèo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mì Quảng</span> Vietnamese noodle dish

Mì Quảng, literally "Quảng noodles", is a Vietnamese noodle dish that originated in Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam. It is one of the region's most popular and well-recognized food items, and is served on various occasions, such as at family parties, death anniversaries, and Tết. It is a common food item in Ðà Nẵng and the surrounding regions, where it is eaten at any time of day.

<i>Bún bò Huế</i> Vietnamese beef noodle soup

Bún bò Huế or bún bò is a Vietnamese rice noodle (bún) dish with sliced beef (), chả lụa, and sometimes pork knuckles. The dish originates from Huế, a city in central Vietnam associated with the cooking style of the former royal court. The dish has a mix of spicy, salty, and savory flavors. The predominant flavors are those of lemongrass and shrimp paste. Compared to phở or bún riêu, the noodles are thicker and cylindrical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cơm tấm</span> Vietnamese rice dish

Cơm tấm is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. Tấm refers to the broken rice grains, while cơm refers to cooked rice. Although there are varied names like cơm tấm Sài Gòn, particularly for Saigon, the main ingredients remain the same for most cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamese noodles</span>

Vietnamese cuisine includes many types of noodles. They come in different colors and textures and can be served wet or dry, hot or cold, and fresh (tươi), dried (khô), or fried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cầu Giấy district</span> District of Hanoi, Vietnam

Cầu Giấy is an urban district of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. It is located roughly to the west of urban Hanoi. Cầu Giấy has a unique urban landscape, with new urban developments interlacing old historical artisan villages. The most well-known of them is a cluster of Dịch Vọng villages with its popular cốm dessert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bun cha</span> Vietnamese dish

Bún chả is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vu Bang (1913–1984), who described Hanoi as a town "transfixed by bún chả." Hanoi's first bún chả restaurant was on Gia Ngư, Hoàn Kiếm District, in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

<i>Bún mắm</i> Vietnamese vermicelli soup

Bún mắm is a fermented thick Vietnamese vermicelli soup sometimes called "Vietnamese gumbo."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bún thịt nướng</span> Vietnamese cold rice vermicelli dish

Bún thịt nướng, which originated from Southern Vietnam, is a popular Vietnamese dish of cold rice vermicelli topped with grilled pork, fresh herbs like basil and mint, fresh salad, giá, and chả giò. The dish is dressed in nước mam fish sauce. The dish is topped with roasted peanuts, Vietnamese pickled carrots, nem nướng̣ or grilled prawns. Bún thịt nướng is popular in all regions of Vietnam, alongside Hanoi's bún chả.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nem nướng</span> Vietnamese food item

Nem nướng is Vietnamese grilled pork sausage or grilled meatballs, and a popular Vietnamese food item, sometimes served as an individual appetizer or snack, or served with rice noodles or rice as a main course. Nem nướng is a specialty of Khánh Hòa Province . Nem nướng is a rustic dish, originating from Ninh Hoa, a northern district of Khanh Hoa province, about 30 km from the coastal city.

Dim Tu Tac, founded in 2015, is a Cantonese cuisine and dim sum restaurant chain in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 'Dim tu tac' means "anything you want" or "anything is possible" in Cantonese language. The name also expresses the restaurant's mission to help food lovers explore the Cantonese gourmet world through a combination of innovative cooking techniques and the using of ingredients from many different culinary cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Vietnam

The COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam has resulted in 11,624,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 43,206 deaths. The number of confirmed cases is the highest total in Southeast Asia, and the 13th highest in the world. Hanoi is the most affected locale with 1,649,654 confirmed cases and 1,238 deaths, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 628,736 cases and 20,476 deaths; however, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has estimated that the real number of cases may be four to five times higher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanoi Kitchen</span> Vietnamese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Hanoi Kitchen is a Vietnamese restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stateside (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Stateside is a Vietnamese fusion restaurant in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Justin Solomon; Kate Springer. "Cha Ca: An entire Hanoi street dedicated to one special dish". CNN. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  2. 1 2 "The Dish Worth Traveling to Vietnam For (and It Isn't Pho)". AFAR Media. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The kings of chả cá". Thanh Nien Daily. 2011-06-03. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fabricant, Florence (2012-05-29). "A Dish Inspired by a Dive in Hanoi". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  5. Baraghani, Andy. "Turmeric Fish with Rice Noodles and Herbs Recipe". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  6. "The Fish to Fly Across the World For". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  7. 1 2 VnExpress. "Become a gourmet before you leave Hanoi, CNN exhorts - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  8. "This tasty Vietnamese fish dish has the best name ever: Cha Ca La Vong". The Seattle Times. 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2020-04-24.