Gỏi Cá Mai
VietnamGỏi Cá Mai: The Lime-Cured Fish Salad of Phan Thiết and Mũi Né
On the Phan Thiết coast, the first plate of a seafood meal is often gỏi cá mai: small translucent fish lightly cured in lime and tossed with herbs and peanuts. Here is what the fish is, how to wrap and eat it, and what to know when ordering.
The Signature Starter of the Phan Thiết Coast
Mũi Né is a fishing village and resort strip running east along the coast from central Phan Thiết, famous for its red sand dunes and a harbour packed with fishing boats. It used to belong to Bình Thuận province and, since the July 2025 provincial merger, is part of Lâm Đồng. No talk of seafood here goes far without gỏi, salads of raw or lightly cured ingredients tossed in a sweet-sour dressing. The Vietnamese daily VnExpress names gỏi cá mai among Phan Thiết's best-known dishes, noting that fresh fish fillet eaten with herbs and a sauce of fish sauce and tamarind is what defines it. Vietnamese record organisations also listed Phan Thiết fish salad among the country's specialty dishes for 2021–2022, and local press noted that the honour covered the salad as a whole rather than one particular fish.
What Kind of Fish Is Cá Mai?
Cá mai is described as a small fish with translucent flesh, sweet and only faintly fishy, which makes it ideal for salads. Its English name varies between sources: some call it white anchovy, others a type of sardine. For travellers, thinking of it as a small, finger-sized silver fish is enough. Cá mai is not the only fish salad in Phan Thiết. According to local media, fresh salads also use small fish such as cá đục, cá suốt and cá dỗi, while drier styles use cá trích (herring or sardine) or cá ét. The line-up depends on what came into the harbour that day, as you would expect on the coast. If a menu lists several kinds of gỏi, cá mai is the classic choice.
A Salad ‘Cooked’ With Lime
Gỏi cá mai involves no fire. The fish is scaled, boned and cut into fine strips, then worked with lime juice until the acid turns the flesh white and half-cured. VnExpress stresses that the fish must be very fresh and handled lightly and quickly so the flesh does not turn mushy. According to the same outlet, it is then tossed with herbs such as rau răm and basil, onion and scallions, chili, roasted peanuts and sesame and fried shallots, in a dressing of fish sauce with garlic, chili, lime and sugar. The dipping sauce is thickened with tamarind, ripe banana, sesame and ground peanuts, giving a sweet, sour and nutty taste. Local press adds that fishermen make a simpler version, tossing lime-cured fish with chili fish sauce and a big handful of scallions.
How to Wrap and Eat It
Gỏi cá mai usually arrives as a plate of salad with rice paper and a basket of greens. The rice paper may be softened in water or grilled crisp. Alongside herbs such as rau răm, basil (húng quế) and perilla (tía tô), you will often get sliced star fruit (khế), astringent green banana (chuối chát) and cucumber to balance the flavours. Eating it is simple. Lay out a sheet of rice paper, add herbs and vegetables, put a chopstickful of salad on top, roll it up and dip it in the sweet, sour and spicy sauce that comes with it. With grilled rice paper you can also break off a piece like a cracker and pile salad on top. The appeal is the way lime, nutty peanuts and thính and fresh herbs all land in one bite. Since you eat with your hands, a wet towel usually comes with it.
Ordering Tips and Cautions
Gỏi cá mai is often ordered as the first plate at a seafood restaurant, before the grilled or steamed dishes. Seafood restaurants cluster around the fishing port in central Phan Thiết and along the Mũi Né coastal road, so ask what fish came in that day and order your gỏi. Prices vary quite a bit by restaurant and season, so check before you order. Local press says Phan Thiết fish salad used to be rather sweet, but as tourism grew and diners from other regions gave their feedback, it has shifted to a richer, bolder flavour. Because the fish is cured only by acid, choose a busy place where fish turns over quickly, and if you have a sensitive stomach or are pregnant, skip it or just have a small taste.