Cha ca La Vong (''Chả cá Lã Vọng'' in Vietnamese) is a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

grilled fish dish originally from

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. The dish is traditionally made with

hemibagrus ''Hemibagrus'' is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Bagridae. The genus ''Hemibagrus'' is known from Southeast Asia, India, and southern China. Members of this genus are found ubiquitously in river drainages east of the Ga ...

(''cá lăng'' in Vietnamese), which is a genus of

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. The fish is cut into pieces and marinated with

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

galangal Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater gal ...

, fermented rice and other ingredients. It is then grilled over

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

and served at the table in a hot pan coated with oil with

scallion Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chive ...

and

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula; it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring ...

. It is then eaten with bún noodles, fresh herbs, peanuts and a pungent shrimp-based sauce called

mắm tôm Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Coastal Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. It is sold eith ...

. Chả Cá Lá Vọng is considered a Hanoi delicacy, as it is nearly exclusively served in restaurants and is not found in

street food Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

History

In the 19th century, the Đoàn family living in the Old city of Hanoi were known to prepare grilled fish for their neighbors. The dish became so popular that the local community helped the family open an eatery at 17 Hàng Sơn Street in 1871. The restaurant was colloquially named ''Chả cá Lã Vọng'' or Lã Vọng grilled fish. The name refers to a statue (displayed inside the shop) of ''"Lã Vọng"'' or Trương Tử Nha, an 11th century BC

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

strategist, Trương Tử Nha fishing was a legend that symbolized the patient wait for a talented people. The small restaurant was managed by Doan Phuc and his wife Bi Van. In its early days, it was a meeting place and hideout for

anti-colonial Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

rebels. However, the restaurant soon became popular with aristocrats and

colonial troops Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military units Military recruitment, recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonie ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. The restaurant became so popular that Hàng Sơn Street was later renamed ''Grilled Fish Lane'' or ''Phố Chả Cá''. The original Chả Cá Lã Vọng restaurant is still in business today, 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 critic A food critic, food writer, or restaurant critic is a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings to the public. Terminology "Food writer" is often used as a broad term that encompasses someone who w ...

s and bloggers. As explained by

Florence Fabricant Florence Fabricant is an American 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 ...

, "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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, some restaurants serve the dish with a variety of fish types and cooking styles, including: grilled catfish

satay Satay ( , in the US also ), or sate in Indonesia, is a Javanese cuisine, Javanese dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay originated in Java, but has spread throughout Indonesia, into Southeast Asia, Europe, ...

, grilled basa, grilled

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically mos ...

, 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 estuary, estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ...

, and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three species of flatfish in the family of right-eye flounders. In some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish are also referred to as halibut. The word is derived from ''haly'' (holy) and ...

salad.

References

{{Reflist Fish dishes Vietnamese seafood dishes