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EN
At a restaurant along the embankment in the center of Tuy Hoa city, we are introduced to sun-dried beef. At first glance, it sounds like sun-dried squid, but it's prepared in some other way. Upon closer inspection, it's actually beef. This dish is enjoyed with yellow ant chili salt, a rare remaining traditional folk dish.
Beef is sliced along the grain like a beefsteak, seasoned, and then sun-dried for a morning. The beef is neither dry and tough nor too soft. The meat is skillfully sliced along the grain to prevent it from being chewy. The sun-dried beef is then grilled over charcoal. The meat must be turned regularly to prevent it from burning.
The uniqueness of sun-dried beef lies in its pairing with yellow ant chili salt. People in Central Vietnam collect yellow ant nests to make chili salt. The ant nests have a sour, slightly pungent taste. The spicy chili and salty sea salt from Central Vietnam, combined with the sourness and pungency of the ant nests, create a very unusual dipping sauce. Sun-dried beef dipped in yellow ant chili salt is incredibly addictive and you can't stop eating it.
