Gỏi cá trích topped with herbs, coconut and fried shallots, with peanut dipping sauce · Photo: OlBoes / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
VietnamPhu QuocGỏi Cá Trích: Phú Quốc's Raw Herring Salad and How to Wrap It
Fresh herring sliced raw, briefly marinated in citrus, tossed with coconut, peanuts and herbs and wrapped in rice paper: gỏi cá trích is Phú Quốc's signature seafood dish. Here is the herring season, how it is prepared and how to eat it with the island's own fish sauce.
The Raw Fish Dish Phú Quốc Is Known For
In gỏi cá trích, gỏi means salad and cá trích means herring (the name can also cover sardine-like fish). It is raw herring sliced thin and tossed with onion, grated coconut and herbs such as mint, and Vietnam's national tourism site, vietnam.travel, lists it among Phú Quốc's signature seafood dishes. Raw fish dishes are rare in Vietnamese cooking, so even Vietnamese travelers treat gỏi cá trích as a must-eat on the island. Tangy fish, nutty coconut, crunchy peanuts and fresh herbs make it so light that the tourism site calls it refreshing at any time of day. You will find it at seafood and local restaurants all over the island.
From Sea to Table: Herring Season
As Viet Nam News describes it, a Phú Quốc fisherman's day begins before dawn. He heads out to sea and anchors near a reef about 10 km offshore. Herring school along the coast and feed around the reefs, and fishermen spot them by the small ripples they make on the surface. A basket-shaped net is lowered and hauled up after 30 minutes to an hour. The catch peaks in the herring season around the seventh lunar month, the most profitable time of year for fishermen. Since the dish is eaten raw, freshness matters above all. In the same article, a resort owner on the island advises choosing plump, meaty herring and preparing it quickly because it will be eaten raw. Eating the day's catch on the same day is exactly why this dish is best on the island.
Preparing and Tossing
Here is how it is prepared. The herring is scaled, the head, tail and guts are removed, and the flesh is filleted and cut into bite-size pieces. These soak in vinegar and lemon juice for about five minutes. The acid turns the flesh white as if lightly cooked and tames any fishiness. The fish is then tossed with sliced onion, grated coconut, roasted peanuts, herbs including mint, and spices. Some places pile on fried shallots or scallions. Alongside the salad you usually get rice paper, cucumber, lettuce and a basket of herbs. Coconut is what defines the flavor. True to its tropical setting, the island uses freshly grated coconut, adding a nutty sweetness that softens the sourness and saltiness of the fish.
How to Eat It: Wrap and Dip
Rather than eating it like a salad, you roll your own. Lay out a sheet of rice paper, add lettuce, herbs and cucumber, top with the dressed fish and a little more coconut and peanuts, and roll it up. The dipping sauce is Phú Quốc fish sauce mixed with minced garlic, chili and roasted peanuts, so this is a direct way to taste the island's famous nước mắm. According to Viet Nam News, some cooks marinate the fish in guava vinegar, another island specialty, with a little salt and sugar instead of plain vinegar or lemon. Where Da Nang's Nam Ô raw fish salad, made with the same kind of small herring, is seasoned with toasted rice powder (thính) and wild greens, the Phú Quốc version is defined by freshly grated coconut and roasted peanuts. Viet Nam News also notes that it uses coconut and peanuts instead of the banana or papaya common in other southern salads.
Ordering Tips and Other Island Seafood
Gỏi cá trích often comes in a portion meant for two or three to share. If raw fish worries you, pick a busy place where fish sells out fast, and if your stomach is sensitive, try it when you are feeling your best rather than on day one. There is plenty of other island seafood to order alongside. The tourism site highlights grilled sea urchin (nhum biển), spines removed, halved and charcoal-grilled with oil, peanuts and scallions, and names Dinh Cậu night market in Dương Đông as a good place for it. The small flower crabs of Hàm Ninh, a fishing village about 20 km from Dương Đông, are boiled and dipped in lime-and-pepper salt. There is also charcoal-grilled scad (cá sòng nướng), wrapped in rice paper with herbs, so comparing it with gỏi cá trích makes a fun tour of Phú Quốc's wrap-and-dip seafood.