Minh Anh

TasteAtlas has recently listed Vietnamese sun-dried squid as one of the best dishes made of squid in the world.

The on-line travel guide for culinary fans collates authentic recipes, food critic reviews and research articles about popular ingredients and dishes.

In its 'Top 33 Squid Dishes in the World', TasteAtlas placed the sun-dried squid from Phan Thiết Province at number ten, with a score of 4.1 out of five stars.

It wrote: "Mực một nắng is a traditional dish originating from Phan Thiết. This seafood specialty consists of sun-dried squid. A large, fresh squid is sun-dried for a day and it's then grilled over hot coals. If the heat gets too high, the squid will become overcooked, hard on the exterior, but rare inside.

"As it cooks, the squid turns yellow and develops a unique aroma. When served, the dried and grilled squid is shredded, and it's usually accompanied by fish sauce with chilli for dipping the pieces into it. It's recommended to pair the dish with a cold beer on the side."

As a country with long coastal line, mực một nắng is also made in many localities such as Thanh Hóa, Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Nam, Bình Định, Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận, and Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu. 

The favoured procedure for preparing dried squid products consists of splitting and eviscerating the raw squid, removing the ink sac, cartilage and skin, and then drying the mantle, arms and fins in the sunshine.

To make good and high-quality dried squid, people have to wash the squid with sea water, then dry it. They then place the flesh under strong intense sunlight which helps preserve its natural savoury taste, chewiness, and fresh flavour. The important thing is that the squid is only dried in the sun for a single day.

The drying process under the sun heat helps to preserve the squid for a longer time.

The dish that TasteAtlas describes was grilled mực một nắng over charcoal, which is one of the most simple ways of cooking the squid, a method which retains the great taste of the seafood. It is the most ordered dish in restaurants and bia hơi (draught beer)shops. 

 "Squid chosen to make sun-dried squid must have natural opaque white colour, the body and head are tightly attached to each other. Squid should be in moderate size, thick and have an even-sized body," said chef Đinh Văn Bình from Nha Trang City.

"Sun-dried squid must have the right dryness. The outside is shriveled but the inside is still soft. Delicious sun-dried squid will have the characteristic aroma of fresh squid, without any fishy or strange smell.

"I myself prefer products from Phan Thiết, Nha Trang and Côn Đảo, where the squid are great and the processing process is guaranteed." 

He confirmed that the grilled sun-dried squid on charcoal placed first in his personal ranking too, but it  could be cooked in various ways and still have a delicious taste.

Fried dried squid with fish sauce is also a favourite dish in his restaurant.

Squid is cut and marinated before being fried until golden brown. It is then cooked with a sauce mixture of fish sauce, water and sugar over a medium heat. 

When the mixture is sticky, stir it well and then put it on a plate, garnishing with chopped green onions and pepper.

"The dish is rich in the flavour of the sea, thanks to the perfect combination of squid and fish sauce, creating an attractive and delicious sauce," said Bình. "It can be served with rice during a family meal or as a wonderful dish for beer lovers."

Another suggested dish is crispy fried dried squid, which is not only for adults, but also the kids' choice, he said.

The squid is marinated with salt and pepper and dipped in a flour batter, then deep-fried to crispy perfection.

"The dish often comes garnished with garlic, fried chilli and spring onions and served as a bia hơi snack, or in my restaurant children really love it for its crunchy taste and good smell," he said. 

Having spent all his life in a city of seafood and more than 30 years cooking, Bình has created multiple dishes with both fresh squid and sun-dried squid.

The chef said sun-dried squid can be the central ingredient to hundreds of dishes such as sun-dried squid stir-fry with cucumber and celery, grilled sun-dried squid with satay, steamed sun-dried squid with ginger and sweet and sour dried sun-dried squid. VNS