9 seafoods you must-try when visiting Nam Du Islands, Vietnam

Nam Du is a famous archipelago that is located in the Southwest of Vietnam. The romantic landscape of this attraction definitely takes your breath away. However, the best part of Nam Du lies in its unique cuisines. Take your bucket list now because you will need it to write down these 9 highlighting dishes of Nam Du in a minute.

1. Sea urchin (Vietnamese: Nhum)

Sea urchin can be cooked into many dishes, but the most popular one is sea urchin soup. This soup of Nam Du is never the same with any soup you have tried before. It is a mouth-watering harmony of the slight sweetness of oysters, the smoothing taste of shrimps and crabs. All make this spicy food a precious gift of the sea. You will miss this food every time you think about Nam Du. Another way to enjoy sea urchin is to split its shell, grill on charcoal fire until the meat shrinks then add a little bit fried onion. Now the dish is ready, eat it with lemon-peppered salt.

2. Garfish (Vietnamese: Ca xuong xanh)

Eating garfish with rice-paper rolls or rice is awe-inspiring. The cooks choose the freshest garfish of the sea, clean them. Next, fish are tightly wrapped in banana leaves and grilled in firing wood. Fish are ready to serve when the banana leaves get dried. You will be eager to opening the wrapping leaves and waiting for the smell of grilled fish starts to wake up your appetite. The local people eat garfish with some special forest herbs that bring up a great treat for your food soul.

3. Cobia (Vietnamese: Ca bop)

Cobia is a common type of fish raised in the underwater fish cage of Western Kien Giang fishermen. It has a thin, long body with black color like the snakehead. The fish meat is white, soft yet not scattered, naturally spicy. It is possible to make many dishes with this type of fish such as grill, soup, hot pot. Maybe the most favourite one is cobia soup that features fresh tamarind, minced lemongrass and turmeric. Bamboo shoots are also added to make the meal much more delicious. When it comes to cobia hot pot, the sensible additives are bamboo flower buds, split spinach, bean sprouts and a tiny bowl of pepper and fish sauce.

4. Flower crabs (Vietnamese: Ghe)

Like many other seaside areas, Nam Du people often boil flower crabs in order to keep its taste and nutrient. One thing to know is that flower crabs here are very cheap, only 160-180 thousand VND/kilogram, much cheaper than that in any other areas. If you do not feel like buying them in the fish market, consider getting local fishermen to dive into the sea and catch some fresh crabs. They are usually hospital and happy to give you a meal. This way is even shockingly cheaper. Sometimes, you are lucky enough to be served rock oysters fried with garlic too.

5. Rock oysters (Vietnamese: Hau da)

The easiest time to find rock oysters to the evening when the sea level gets lower. You can prise the oyster meat and eat it fresh with lemon-peppered salt, feeling like the ocean is calling inside your mouth. However, the seafood guru have another way to find out the big fat oyster far away in the sea. You have to dive far, take a look at the reefs in the endeavour of coconut-sized milk oysters that can only be prised by a knife. This kind of oyster meat is as big as your hand, white like coconut and spill out milk. Just feel excited about adding some lemon-peppered salt then put it into your mouth, vigorously chew and you can feel this is the best way to enjoy oysters. For the ones who hesitate to eat fresh oysters, the oysters fried with garlic is an awesome alternative. Eat oyster in the strong sea wind and ask yourself how beautiful life is.

6. Squid (Vietnamese: Muc trung)

Squid can be cooked into many delicious foods with pepper, frying powder, butter, chili sauce or satay. The most outstanding one is squid steamed with ginger because this dish preserve the true taste and offers easy cooking method. It is necessary to note that squid is notorious for its difficulty to be thoroughly cleaned to get rid of the fishy smell. However, you can always believe in this famed food of Nam Du cause it is cleverly cooked here.

7. Giant clam (Vietnamese: Oc tai tuong)

Giant clam are often found in reefs, so it is quite tricky to catch them. Their weight varies but the most delicious ones are told to be about 1 kilogram. Giant clam at this weight is not chewy yet crunchy and have a spicy taste. They use giant clam to make many dishes like stir fry, porridge or eat them raw. One of the most favorite ways to cook giant clam is frying them with butter. This offers a very spicy taste.

8. Noble scallop (Vietnamese: So quat)

This is a familiar seafood in Nam Du or Phu Quoc. Noble scallop are famed for their spicy yet not tough meat. This feature makes them a great ingredient for many delicious dishes. Noble scallop, as their name, have a fan-shaped shell that lightens up their beauty. You can try grilling them with onion, oil and cheese. The fatty taste of onion fat oil and the sweetness of peanuts really wake up your appetite. Served with sour fish sauce or lemon-peppered salt is like icing on the cake.

9. Dried fish (Vietnamese: Kho ca)

Dried fish can be kept for years after they have been made. The drying method is quite simple but effective. Fishermen use this to preserve fish that have not been bought yet. In Nam Du, the process of drying fish is made with high standard to ensure safety for customers. Dried fish is considered a must-buy souvenirs for faraway visitors.

See more Nam Du Islands travel guide at here.