Fishing boat hotpot – rustic, attractive winter dish

Simple processing

Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan has been a fisherman for nearly 30 years on the Luoc River, the border between Tu Ky district of Hai Duong and Vinh Bao (Hai Phong). He is quite familiar with fishing boat hotpot. Since he was a child, he often enjoyed this dish cooked by his grandfather and father right on the boat.

Mr. Thuan said that fishermen often bring pots and some ingredients and spices to cook when working on the river. The fishing boat hotpot is essentially a soup, using familiar, readily available ingredients and the preparation is extremely simple. Fish and shrimp, big or small, can all be used to cook this dish. At mealtime, fishermen put the stove on to boil a sufficient amount of water, add yeast, lemongrass, a few tomatoes, sour star fruit or fresh tamarind and simmer until tender. Clean the fish and shrimp and put them in a pot of boiling water. When the water is sour, the meat turns white and no longer has a fishy smell. Seasonings include white salt, MSG and especially shrimp paste - a typical indispensable spice for fishing boat hotpot. When the fish is cooked, sprinkle in dill, coriander, chopped Vietnamese coriander and chili to have a delicious, warming dish. "When eaten hot, you can feel the natural sweetness of the fish meat, the mild sourness and spiciness of the broth," Mr. Thuan described.

No one knows since when fishing boat hotpot has become a popular dish in both urban and rural areas. In Hai Duong, this dish is often prepared by people in winter, and many restaurants also make it to serve diners. People can use many types of fish to prepare it, from grass carp, common carp, tilapia to catfish, and even some types of sea fish. The way to make fishing boat hotpot is very simple, and the ingredients are always available in the market. Each place has its own way of preparing the broth, but in general, it does not use oil.

This season, Mr. Nguyen Van Huan in Nam Sach occasionally carries a fishing rod to catch catfish and catfish in the Thai Binh River to make hotpot on a fishing boat. Mr. Huan said that compared to farmed fish, river fish are small, but when eaten, you will feel all the quintessence and deliciousness of this hotpot. After catching the fish, he cleans it and cuts off the head. The fish body is cut into bite-sized pieces, sprinkled with lemongrass, dill, chopped chili and a little fish sauce, mixed well and then arranged on a plate, decorated to make it eye-catching.

Mr. Huan uses the fish head to simmer with some fruits and spices to make broth such as tamarind, tomato, star fruit, pineapple, lemongrass, chili. He roasts a large piece of ginger, washes it, crushes it and puts it in the pot of broth to create aroma and remove the fishy smell. When seasoning, Mr. Huan adds broth powder, seasoning powder, MSG, fish sauce, shrimp paste and yeast. When the broth is cooked, pour it into the pot, put it on the hot pot stove and let it boil. When eating, he puts each piece of fish that has been marinated before into the pot, waits until it is cooked, takes it out into a bowl, sprinkles on some herbs including dill, Vietnamese coriander, Vietnamese coriander, chopped green onions and then pours in the broth to enjoy. Mr. Huan adds a bowl of ginger and chili fish sauce for dipping. “Depending on each person’s taste, adjust the sour and spicy taste of the broth accordingly. When eating, add some vegetables such as elephant foot yam, watercress, celery, chrysanthemum greens, and jute mallow. The hot pot broth used to pour over the noodles is also very delicious,” Mr. Huan shared.

Once remembered forever

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh, living in Hanoi, still cannot forget the first time she enjoyed the fish boat hotpot when she returned to her husband's hometown in Tu Ky district 5 years ago. "At first, when I saw my family cook it, I thought that if the fish was not fried and put into the hotpot, it would probably taste fishy. But I was wrong. As soon as I brought the bowl to my mouth, I could smell the strangely attractive aroma. The first feeling when enjoying this dish was that the fish meat was very sweet, the broth had a light sour and spicy taste, not fatty, and you could eat a lot without getting bored. I immediately learned the recipe to bring back to Hanoi. Since then, every winter, my family has to make 2-3 meals of fish boat hotpot. My two children also love to eat it," Ms. Anh recalled.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong from Nam Sach also enjoyed the fishing boat hotpot for the first time not long ago at the house of a friend from the same hometown. He said: “Eating it once will be unforgettable. That day, my friend also bought some carp eggs to put in the broth, making it look even more eye-catching. When eating, you can clearly feel the characteristic aroma of the fishing boat hotpot broth mixed with the meat and eggs, the irresistible sweetness.”

To increase the appeal of the above dish, in addition to fish as the main ingredient, many families also buy squid and fresh shrimp to dip together.

Winter is coming, in the cold weather, gathering with friends and relatives around a steaming hot pot stove will definitely be an interesting experience.