Fancy flames: Many restaurants keep the pot hot on the fire, which is an impressive scene at night. Photo: Thiên Hương
During
a visit to Phú Yên, one can sit by the windy beach and enjoy slices of fresh
tuna fish so cold that they may freeze your teeth. After that, warm up your
stomach with the most distinguished delicacy of the region, a bowl of hot tuna
eyes stewed with herbs, available at very reasonable price. The dish offers a
distinctive taste of the area’s sea flavour.
Snack of fishermen
Phú
Yên has been considered the capital of sea tuna in the country as fishermen in
Phú Câu Village in Tuy Hòa City were among the first to bring home this kind of
fish in 1994. Nguyễn Ngọc Sơn, a native of the village, knows how to make tuna
dishes better than almost anyone.
The eye is in a gourd: Some restaurants may serve tuna eyes inside pumpkins. Photo: chiecthiavang.com
In
the mid-1990s, Sơn opened a seafood restaurant called Sơn Cầu Gỗ on a street
running along Đà Rằng River in Tuy Hòa City. His restaurant has become famous
for its tasty seafood and reasonable prices.
“Before
tuna became a good for export, fishermen just cut off its head, salted its body
and sold the tuna’s head at local markets,” he told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper.
“But almost no one bought it. Hence fishermen instead cut off meat parts from
the head, like the meat around the two cheeks and its eyes to cook and serve
with wine.”
“I
don’t remember exactly in 1998 or 1999, I tried to cook tuna eyes in a more
complicated way to serve my guests,” he recalled, “People turned out to like
the dish very much.”
Ocean
tuna, also known with the local name of "cá bò gù", is highly
nutritious and can be processed into various dishes. For a tuna weighing
40-50kg, each of its eyes may weigh between 100-200 grams. The easiest way to
prepare the eye is by putting one fish eye into a bowl, adding salt and putting
the bowl into a pan with water to boil it.
The
more complicated method includes washing the eye carefully, scalding it to
reduce the fishy smell and then putting each eye in a ceramic bowl.
Eyes everywhere: Tuna eyes are popular in Phú Yên establishments from pavement restaurants to luxurious hotels. Photo: chiecthiavang.com
The
cook can add tomato juice and pineapple to increase flavour and at the same
time soften the eye. Then sliced chili, pepper, onion, soya sauce and spices
are added. The bowl is then boiled for 15-20 minutes until the eye is well
cooked. The dish then should be eaten hot with fresh herbs like balm mint,
basil and coriander.
Some
restaurants keep the bowls hot with spirit cookers put on the tables. The fiery
cookers make a great impression on tourists on summer nights when cooling winds
blow in from the sea.
When
the hot bowl is put on the table and the lid is opened, the fragrant smell of
well-cooked eye fish flies out from the bowl. Diners should add the fresh
herbs, stir well, add some spices and try the first bite.
One
can taste the fatty and tender part of the eye, which contains the strong smell
of the sea and blends with hot spices and herbs.
Local delicacy
The
tuna fish eye has over time become a leading delicacy in Phú Yên. Tourists
coming to Phú Yên can find the dish almost anywhere from pavement restaurants
to five-star hotels.
Many
restaurants have made the dish more special by stewing the fish eye with
Chinese herbs.
“Chinese
herbs not only add special flavours to the dish but also help digest the food
better,” said Nguyễn Minh Chánh, an experienced cook from Tuy Hòa City.
“Chinese herbs also help ensure the fish eyes don’t taste fishy.”
Some
hotels even fry tuna eyes to make a crispy dish served with salad made from
banana flowers.
See and smell: When the hot bowl is put on the table and the lid is opened, one may be lured by the scent of well-cooked fish eye. Photo Lê Hương
After
being washed carefully, the fish eyes are scalded by boiling water and then
covered with tapioca starch. The eyes are then deep fried for some minutes,
according to Nguyễn Tấn Tài, a cook from Hùng Vương Hotel, Tuy Hòa City.
Mai
Quang Khánh, another local cook, told Việt Nam News that he always put the fish
eyes inside pumpkins after he removes the seeds. He also puts inside chopped
turnip, carrot and pepper and then bakes the whole pumpkin. Eaters can eat the
whole dish, including the pumpkin exterior.
Tài
said tuna fish eyes have also been used for various dishes in Japan and South
Korea due to their delicious taste and the amount of DHA and Omega 3, which are
good for the brain.
Sea cow: Phúc Yên has been considered the capital of tuna. Photo: chiecthiavang.com
“Before
1990, Japanese people even did not eat tuna eyes. They threw them away,” Tài
sad. “But since they discovered that tuna eyes are good for the brain, they
have been interested in processing various dishes from the eyes.”
Tài
said that in Japan, a popular dish from tuna eyes is the eyes boiled in water
with sugar, soya sauce and some sake wine. They sometimes fry and stew the eyes
as well.
“South
Koreans do not cook tuna eyes,” he said. “They don’t eat the whole eye but only
the cartilage inside. They mince the cartilage inside the eye and put it into a
glass of soju wine and eat the mixture.”
Other
restaurants may stew the fish eyes with lotus seeds or eggs.
Take a look: Deep fried tuna eyes. Photo: chiecthiavang.com
In
2014, the Việt Nam Record Organisation named two delicacies of Phú Yên — ocean
tuna and Ô Loan Lagoon blood cockle — among the top 10 delicacies in Việt Nam.
My
advice for you when trying the eye for the first time: order one eye for the
group to share first. Then, if you find the taste ok, call for more! Not
everyone likes the fatty and fishy taste of the dish. Bà Tám Cá Ngừ in Lê Duẩn
Street in Tuy Hòa City is among the most famous places to try the dish.
“Phú
Yên is beautiful, with energetic people and special dishes at very cheap
price,” said tourist Vương Ngọc Hải of Hà Nội, “I want to return here every
year.”
By VNS