10 most delicious Phu Quoc foods you need to try

Phu Quoc always brings enjoyable experiences to travelers. One of its attractions is its cuisines that cannot be ignored when visiting the island.

1. Fried rice with fresh crab

Don’t be surprised if you can encounter fried rice with crab in every restaurant in Phu Quoc. There was one tourist who commented that if you tried fried rice with crab in Phu Quoc, you can feel the essence of the island, the quintessence of the sea and the rustic simplicity of Phu Quoc people.

Fried rice with crab is the combination of fragrant rice, tasty boiled crab meat, slices of fried eggs and spicy sliced chili sauce. All of these ingredients are blended to create a very idyllic and tasty flavor that mesmerizes every demanding guest.

2. Boiled Ham Ninh crab

The price of one kilo Ham Ninh crab is around 100,000 to 150,000VND, depending on the size of the crabs. However the big crabs in Phu Quoc have only the same size with the small ones in the central part of Vietnam. The too big crab will not be delicious whereas the small ones will not have much flesh. Therefore the tastiest size of crab is about 6 to 7 crabs/ kilo. If you like the orange stuff (so called the roe or egg) inside the crab then you choose the female ones, but if you like to have more meat then the male crab should be your choice. The more meat the crab has, the more delicious it will be. If you visit Phu Quoc and you haven’t tried the boiled crab, your journey should be considered incomplete.

3. Grilled oyster with salt and chili

There are so many cooking styles of oysters: Sautéed with shiitake, mushroom, onion and green cabbages. However, food enthusiasts always want to enjoy the original taste of the sea- that’s why they cannot overlook grilled oyster with salt and chili. The taste of the salt combined with the spiciness of chili elevates the sweet taste of the oyster. And only by this style of cooking that one can preserve the oyster’s crisp texture that nobody can complain about.

4. Herring salad

Herring salad is a popular idyllic specialty that people of the island loved so much which is also frequently ordered by visitors during their meals. The fresh herrings were caught and cleaned alive then sliced. Then all the slices will be dipped into pure lemon juice. Those fillet slices will be rolled with rice paper combined with spring onion, sliced red onion, herbs, grated coconut, chili and minced fried peanuts. This dish can be tasted best with fine Phu Quoc fish sauce and wild blueberry alcohol.

5. Melo melo salad with mango

Melo Melo salad with mango is one of the most intriguing dishes in Phu Quoc which is extremely attractive by its fragrance which mesmerizes all visitors at their first encounter. The taste and nutrients of Melo Melo salad with mango became the favorite delicacy in Phu Quoc cuisines. It is always listed in the menu of almost all restaurants and even sold in every street eatery in this panoramic island.

6. Simmered squid with sauce

In any restaurant in Phu Quoc, this dish is listed in the main menu and visitors can easily take chance to enjoy it. Right after the moment the restaurant staff brings the food out, you can find out how attractive this dish is. Squid is marinated with suitable spices then crisply fried. The pasty sauce is made by sautéed garlic, chopped spring onions, chili and chives. The fried squid will be simmered with the sauce and you will have a very tasty dish for your meal. It may sound easy to make the dish, but believe me; Phu Quoc people is the only one who can make the right taste.

7. Cobia sour broth

One of the most favorite ways of cooking Cobia is making sour broth. Unlike the sour broth in the main land, Cobia sour broth in Phu Quoc must have lemon grass and minced turmeric in its indigents. Young bamboo or sour bamboo is also indispensable in the broth. Besides the sour taste of fresh tamarind or salty tamarind, a little of lemon juice should be added in the dish also. Lemon juice does not only make the broth tasted a little bit sour but it also makes the broth looked pure and attracts the guests more. Cobia Sour Broth is also known as the “King” broth.

8. Bitter bolete mushroom

Enjoying the bolete mushroom broth, you can feel the sweet taste of mushroom, the spiciness of pepper and the taste will be more appetizing if you eat with Phu Quoc anchovy fish sauce. The dry mushroom can be sautéed with abalone or sea cucumber. Bolete mushroom can also be cooked with chicken, pork and eggs. The medium boiled chicken broth, for example, can become a very delightful mushrooms broth if you put some fresh bolete mushroom in. The chicken is shredded and dotted in chili salt but the most delicious one is the hot mushroom broth. The medium mushroom is crispy and porous, the more you chew it you will feel a little bitter. Try the boiled chicken broth with mushroom, you can know about the bitter of Bolete mushroom.

9. Sea urchin.

Phu Quoc people have 2 styles to cook the urchin. The most complicated one is scraping the meat inside the urchin, roughly sautéed it and then simmer in rice porridge. The urchin porridge is a tasting deliciously buttery dish with a special weird smell. Besides, the quickest style of cooking urchin is to slice the urchin into 2 half’s and grill it on fire. Just grill it in a very short time then you can use the spoon to scrape the meat of the urchin and then eat with pepper salt mixed with lemon juice. By this way, you can enjoy the intriguing taste of sea urchin.

10. Grilled jack mackerel

Grilled mackerel meat is rolled by rice paper with vegetables. Dot it in pepper salt mixed with lemon juice, you can apperceive the essence of the island and the quintessence of the sea sweetly imbuing in all of your senses. Take a sip of the island wild blueberry alcohol, add some blade of vegetables and fish slices, the time seemed stop flying and the day seemed melted with billows.

Read more Phu Quoc travel guide at here.