Straw-grilled snakehead fish an enticing dish in Vietnam's Mekong Delta

From late March to early April every year, many rice fields across the delta bustle with the harvest of the winter-spring crop.

After the harvest, piles of straw are left scattered across the fields, giving locals the perfect opportunity to grill fresh fish and fill the air with a mouthwatering aroma.

In the past, when natural fish on the field were still abundant, local farmers would gather by the ditches and canals to catch snakehead fish and grill them right next to the rice fields.

Nowadays, as wild-caught fish have become harder to find, people still cherish the memory of grilled snakehead fish over straws.

They often buy fish in advance, and once the harvest ends and the straw has dried enough under the sun, they straw-grill their fish.

Before grilling, the fish is thoroughly cleaned, with heads and scales intact.

A bamboo stick about 50 centimeters long is pierced through the fish’s mouth to the middle of its belly, leaving some of the stick out so it can be anchored into the ground.

The fish is later covered completely with dried straw and burned for about 15 minutes, followed by another 10 minutes of resting in the straw embers.

As the straw ash fades, the snakehead fish crack open with crispy skin, revealing its golden, fragrant meat.

The burnt outer layer is then scraped off, leaving the juicy fish inside ready to eat.

The fragrance of the grilled fish blending with the faint, earthy scent of straw creates a rustic dish that tastes incredibly rich and unforgettable to many.

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