Must-try delicacies during the flood season

When the floodwaters cover the rice paddies, the small fish retreat into the flooded fields to escape the strong waves and winds. At that time, the fish are about the size of a little finger, and are called young small fish. At the same time, the water hyacinths have also bloomed. With the fields flooded, the wild water lilies also begin to appear.

Young snakehead fish have sweet, tender flesh, soft bones, and a rich, fatty flavor, making them delicious in any dish. However, the most delicious and famous is still sour fish soup. Simply adding water spinach flowers makes a steaming, fragrant bowl of sour fish soup. Or, with just a few young tamarind or fresh lemons, plus some basil and fresh chili peppers, you can still have a rustic soup to accompany braised fish. However, for true connoisseurs, snakehead fish sour soup is incomparable to water hyacinth flowers or water lily flowers. For the locals, this is truly an unparalleled delicacy, because snakehead fish are a natural species only found during the flood season, and so are water hyacinths.

Sesbania flowers used in sour soup

With the market far away and their homes surrounded by water on all sides, during family gatherings, the women of the Mekong Delta once again demonstrate their resourcefulness with a "delicious, unique, and unusual" pancake feast using snakehead fish and water hyacinth flowers. Water hyacinth flowers replace bean sprouts, and cleaned and finely minced snakehead fish is stir-fried instead of shrimp and meat filling. It seems that the snakehead fish and water hyacinth flower pairing is made for each other, so when combined, every dish is delicious, and the pancake is no exception.

Grilled catfish

During the flood season, while the water hyacinth flower evokes memories of sour soup or fish pancakes, the water lily flower makes people crave braised water lily flowers with fermented fish sauce. During this season, no one chooses to eat cultivated purple water lilies because the wild water lilies are more abundant, softer, and sweeter. As for the fermented fish sauce, they use red fish sauce, strain out the solids, and cook it with coconut water, pork belly, tilapia, snakehead fish, and lemongrass and chili peppers. When the sauce boils, they skim off the foam several times before serving it hot with water lily flowers and other fresh vegetables. The rich, slightly spicy flavor of the braised fish sauce, combined with the sweetness and crispness of the water lily flowers, creates a wonderful rustic dish for the Đồng Tháp region during the flood season.

Dong Thap's lotus seed rice with dragon blood

Besides fish, frogs are also incredibly abundant this season. The fields are flooded, so people don't bother catching frogs with conventional tools like flashlights or fishing rods; instead, they use traps to catch more and save effort. Flood-season frogs are usually large, plump, with firm, meaty thighs. Looking at them, women in the Mekong Delta immediately think of frog stir-fried with betel leaves or stir-fried in coconut milk. For men who enjoy casual drinking, grilled frog with lemongrass and chili or simply grilled frog is the best.

Fish hotpot with water spinach

When mentioning delicious specialties that you absolutely must try during the flood season, you certainly can't overlook the dish of field rats fleeing the flood. When the water begins to inundate the fields, the rats have no choice but to seek refuge on high mounds or tall trees. This is also a golden opportunity for field rat hunters. During this season, rats provide both an opportunity for people in flood-affected areas to earn extra income and a source of culinary inspiration for women to showcase their skills in preparing delicious dishes.

Deep-fried elephant ear fish

When talking about rats, one cannot forget Cao Lanh (Dong Thap), considered the "main market" for rat meat for diners from all over. Cao Lanh is also the birthplace of the famous roasted rat meat dish. However, for people in the flooded areas, rat meat can be prepared in many different ways such as stir-fried, shredded, deep-fried, boiled with fermented rice, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, wrapped in fresh vegetables and rice paper… But the most delicious and famous is still roasted rat meat. When you taste a piece of field rat meat with crispy skin, tender, fragrant, and rich in flavor, no less delicious than venison, you will understand why this is one of Dong Thap's famous specialties that you cannot miss.

Cuisine is more than just the art of preparing food. For people in the Mekong Delta, it's a way of cherishing and preserving the priceless products of the flood season.

Text: Phat Nguyen | Photos: Nam Chay

The Thanh