The reason is called "sloppy" because in the past, when tourism was not developed, fishermen in Mui Ne sea often put what they earned from the sea into an iron bucket, then poured water and cooked it into a hot pot. Gradually, the sloppy dish has been elevated to a local specialty, attracting visitors to enjoy.
Photo: Phanthietvn.com
Sloppy is made from many different ingredients but the most important is apricot fish. Some places also make this dish from opaque fish or fish (fish that are abundant here). The timing of shellfish fishing is around the 4th to 11th lunar month of every year. At this time, fishermen in the South Central coastal provinces such as Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa ... again in the apricot fish harvesting season.
To make a delicious, standard sloppy dish, one must choose fresh apricot fish, uniform size. Although only as small as fingers, each fish is carefully cleaned, processed quickly to keep freshness.
Video: Hanh Ranh homestay
After preliminarily processing the fish, the chef uses a sharp knife to strain the fillets and then dip them again in lemon juice. This stage helps to eliminate the fishy smell of fish very effectively. Next, marinate the fish with a mixture of ginger juice, chili, and pounded garlic to give the fish an attractive light pink color, firm and rich flesh.
Sloppy is often placed in bamboo mothers lined with banana leaves, creating a beautiful flower shape with ingredients arranged into layers of red-pink banana squash that looks very attractive. The "pistil" part is the plate of apricot fish placed in the center.
Around the fish plate are ingredients including hard-boiled pork, sliced fried egg, split cucumber, banana corn, mango,... This layout not only makes the dish more eye-catching but also implies the image of small basket boats attached to fishing people over the years.
Diners can enjoy sloppy in two ways. The first way is to eat dry (also known as cold eating). Diners put the noodles and ingredients in a bowl, then sprinkle the sauce on top and mix well. The second way to enjoy it is for diners to pour hot pot broth that is being heated over a charcoal stove. Hot dish with broth from shrimp and bone juice, tomato, pineapple, onion has a natural sweet, sour taste
Coming to Phan Thiet, visitors can enjoy sloppy at restaurants, hotels or coastal eateries. Each hot pot set costs from 350,000 - 380,000 VND. The dish has the fresh taste of fish, the greasy taste of meat and vegetables mixed with a thick, fragrant dipping sauce that makes visitors impressed forever, feeling like enjoying all the essence of the sea that is gradually melting in the mouth.
According to VNN