Braised small carp in clay pot

The flood season in Mekong Delta region is the best time to try exotic dishes of Vietnamese cuisine. Some of the ingredients you only get during this season, like cá linh (small carp) and điển điển (river hemp flower) for hotpot.

Foods that always appear on the dining table (or straw mat). Every evening are spicy fish or meat stew, crunchy fried fish, and a steaming hot pot with a lot of greens.

Small carp fish (cá Linh) is best harvested in the flood season every year, from September to November. At this time, the fish are delicious: young and growing. Its bones are still soft and there is lots of fat under the belly, making it the most nutritious treat of the year. The female fish usually comes with a roe pouch, which is delicious when deep fried. The male fish is simmered in the pot.

This fish’s best companion in the steaming broth is bong dien dien, a radiant yellow river hemp flower that grows wild on the river banks, swamps, and rice fields. When blanched, it has a very special flavor, nutty and buttery, crunchy in texture, and full of aroma. The yellow river hemp flower (Bong Dien Dien) has become a beloved specialty from the Mekong Delta and makes its way to almost every Vietnamese home-cooked style restaurant around the country.

And the braised small carp (cá linh) with crushed black pepper is one of the most popular dish during this season. With sweet-sour tamarind and fish sauce hot soup including ingredients fish, shrimp, tomatoes, bean sprouts, okra or whatever, the both are best dishes home  cooked meal enjoyed with a good fish sauce, fesh vegetables and chilies.