Cha ca La Vong (''Chả cá Lã Vọng'' in Vietnamese) is a Vietnamese grilled fish dish, originally from Hanoi. The dish is traditionally made with hemibagrus (or ''ca lang'' in Vietnamese), which is a genus of catfish. The fish is cut into pieces and marinated in a turmeric-based sauce, which often includes shrimp paste or fish sauce,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, and chili peppers. Sometimes, saffron is used instead of turmeric. It is then lightly grilled over

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. The dish is served in a hot pan coated with marinade sauce and herbs, particularly dill. Other herbs, such as scallions or basil, may be included. It is eaten with vermicelli rice noodles (''bún'' in Vietnamese) and peanuts. Cha Ca La Vong is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, as it is nearly exclusively served in restaurants and is not found in street food.

History

In the 19th century, the Doan family were known to prepare grilled fish for their neighbors. The dish became so popular that their local community helped the family open a restaurant, named Cha Ca La Vong, in 1871. The words "''Cha ca"'' translate to "fish sausage" in Vietnamese. Meanwhile, ''"La Vong"'' was inspired by a local statue of

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve ...

, also known as Lu Wang (pronounced as ''La Vong'' in Vietnamese), the fisherman-turned-politician who symbolized the potential for patient, talented people. The restaurant opened at 17 Hang Son Street, between Hang Ma and Lan Ong streets, in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. This was reportedly the same street where the Doan family had lived before opening the restaurant. It was managed by Doan Phuc and his wife Bi Van. In its early days, the restaurant was a meeting place and hideout for anti-colonial rebels. However, the restaurant later became popular with aristocrats and colonial troops of French Indochina. For this reason, Hang Son was officially renamed Cha Ca. The original Cha Ca La Vong restaurant is still open in Hanoi, where it only serves its signature dish, and guests eat from charcoal burners at communal tables. The restaurant was listed as a destination in the book ''1000 Places to Visit Before You Die''.

Contemporary interpretations

The dish has left a strong impression on

food critics The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...

and bloggers. As explained by

Florence Fabricant Florence Fabricant is a food critic and food writer. She has authored multiple cookbooks and has regularly contributed to ''The New York Times'' since 1980. Fabricant lives in Manhattan, New York and East Hampton, New York. Early life Fabricant ...

, "The combination of ingredients — turmeric, dill, shrimp paste and fish sauce — delivers an intriguing muskiness bolstered with chiles, silky noodles and a thicket of other fresh herbs to season the chunks of moist fish. My memories are still vivid after 10 years." Some chefs have developed their own interpretation of the dish, particularly in places where hemibragus may be less common. In the United States, some restaurants serve the dish with a variety of fish types and cooking styles, including: grilled catfish satay, grilled basa, grilled tilapia, whole broiled

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

, and halibut salad.

References

{{Reflist Vietnamese cuisine Fish dishes Vietnamese seafood dishes