Top Must-Try Dishes in Mekong Delta Vietnam

Mekong Delta Vietnam is famous not only for its idyllic tourist attractions but also for a lot of special dishes that you cannot skip in your Vietnam culinary tours. Here is the list of top must-try ones when travelling to this region.

Fish Sauce Hotpot

Hotpot or Lẩu is the famous dish in almost every region in Vietnam, but you can only find Fish Sauce Hotpot in Mekong Delta. Just like other versions, the main ingredients of this are pork ribs broth, vegetables, herbs, meat, but the brilliant spice must be Fish sauce. Besides, there are a lot of stuffs that you can put into it to make the broth flavorsome and more delicious like eel, eggs, potatoes, pineapples, papaya, mushroom etc. Fish Sauce Hotpot will be an ideal dish for a weekend’s rainy day and is considered to be the signature food in Mekong Delta.

Linh Fish

Linh Fish can be seen in almost every small waterway in this area and cooked in a lot of different dishes here. This kind of fish is pretty small but it’s sweet and nutritious, especially at the early Linh Fish season. Some must-try dishes from Linh Fish can be listed as Linh fish sour soup, Linh fish sauce. Furthermore, if you are a rice lover, Linh fish will definitely one of your best friends when coming to Mekong Delta.

Photo: http://topmekongcruises.com/vietnam-to-cambodia-river-cruises

Hu Tieu My Tho

Located at the heart of Mekong Delta, My Tho is famous for its notorious Hu Tieu, which is different from the ones in other regions. The main ingredients in Hu Tieu My Tho are rice noodle (like in Pho and Bun in Northern Vietnam but a bit smaller), dry shrimps, pork, bean sprouts, herbs and some secret spices from the local. After mixing them together, it will turn into one of the best noodles you ever taste in Southern Vietnam.

Steamed Eel with Citronella

Eel is one of the most popular dishes in Mekong Delta thanks to this region’s huge system of rivers and canals. In order to make this skillful dish, the chef has to spend most of their time choosing the freshest and strongest big-size eels. He puts citronella at the bottom of the saucepan after placing the eel inside. The heat from the saucepan makes the eels find their way to hide under the citronella.

There are various ways to be able to taste these specialties. Among them, taking some Mekong river cruises is an ideal choice not only to discover Mekong Delta's cuisine but also admire the majestic beauty of Mekong River.