Paing Top | Thai grilled fish - Lai Chau | Famous specialty of Lai Chau Province

Since ancient times, Thai people often settled in valleys, along rivers and streams, so fish and other aquatic products are always an important source of food indispensable for daily life.

That is why the Thai proverb has a sentence: “Cay man mok ma ha, Bau to pa pinh top ma su” means: “Chicken brought by the frequency, not as good as the fish that Pingtop gives”. Because for the Thai ethnic group, fish not only brings nutritional value but also is a symbol of fullness, affluence and happiness.

To make delicious grilled stream fish, one must choose fresh, fatty stream fish, if it’s carp, the better. The fish is shaved off the scales, not cutting the belly, but having to cut the back so that when grilled, the fish will be soft and easy to pick up.

After taking the honey, wash it, marinate it, and stuff it with spices. Stream fish usually only eat moss, leaves and crustaceans. So they are very clean, the fish dissected has almost no fishy smell. Seasonings for marinating fish include mac Khen, wild herbs, lotus seeds, basil leaves, lemongrass, chili, soup, and main noodles.

After scaling, the fish is pecked from the back to remove the bile and intestines. This type of surgery is more difficult, if you are not careful, your hand will be cut, but when you fold the fish to bake, the fish will be tougher and not broken, forming a beautiful shape.

After dissecting, take a knife to cross the body of the fish and soak it with spices for about 4 minutes, then fold the fish horizontally with herbs and spices, continue to stuff it in the middle, use a fresh bamboo stick to clamp it and grill it on hot charcoal. About 15 minutes, the fish is cooked.

Grilling fish also requires technique, not in a hurry, but close to the coals to burn the outer layer but the inner layer has not yet cooked fragrant, must be persistent to cook gradually and evenly. When removing the fish from the skewer, just use the thread to swipe along the fish in the direction of picking, the fish meat is still intact without breaking.

Enjoying a piece of golden grilled fish, fragrant with sticky sticky rice, we can see all the sweet and fatty taste of the fish, the spicy taste of chili, Mac Khen fruit in the village, the green color of onions, herbs and the red color of vegetables. chili, the yellow color of grilled fish – all the colors of that natural picture have gone into the specific meal of the Thai people simply but randomly.

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