Executive Sous Chef Nguyễn Văn Nhiệp of Pandanus Resort Mũi Né. Photo courtesy of Pandanus Resort Mũi Né.

Chef Nguyễn Văn Nhiệp, who has more than 15 years of experience in the field, says that Lẩu Thả or “drop” hot pot is a speciality of Pandanus.

Originally known as Bún thả, meaning dropped rice noodles by people from the fishing villages of Phan Thiết, a term coined by locals as they would drop in ingredients one after another while preparing and enjoying the dish.

Wives of fishermen would prepare the dish for their husbands after the challenging journey to the sea. For them, nothing is more delicious or nutritious as a hotpot with freshly caught fish.

As tourism developed in the locality, so did Lẩu Thả, and it has now become one of the must tries in Phan Thiết with unique flavours and masterful presentation.

Lẩu Thả ('Drop' hotpot)

Ingredients:

- White sardine fillet: 200gr

- Peeled shrimp: 150gr

- Blue sea crab meat :100gr

- Pork belly: 200gr

- Water: 500ml

- Fresh tomato (diced): 150gr

- Onion (diced): 150gr

- Ground pepper: at your liking

- Sugar: 1tsp

- Fish sauce: 3tsp

- Tomato paste: 50gr

- Lime juice: 3ml

Vegetables:

- Tropical herbs (chopped): 200gr

- Spring onion: 50gr

- Lettuce: 200gr

- Banana flower (cut into threads): 200gr

- Cucumber (cut into threads): 200gr

- Green mango (cut into threads): 200gr

- Rice cracker with sesame and shrimp (grilled): 200gr

For peanut sauce

- Ripe siamese banana: 200gr

- White sesame: 10gr

- Roasted ground peanuts: 50gr

- Fresh goat horn pepper (diced): at your liking

- Water: 30ml

Lẩu Thả or “drop” hot pot

Method:

- Dip the sardine in the lime juice until its meat turns to milky white. Mix well the sardine with ground pepper

- Boil the pork for 25 minutes and cut into threads

- Boil shrimp for seven minutes, peel and well chop.

- Fry eggs and cut into threads.

For hotpot broth:

- Stir-fry diced fresh tomato and onion, and tomato paste in a heating pan with oil until the mixture turns golden brown and flavourful.

- Add crab meat and broth (water from boiling the pork) into the pan and cook until it boils. Add fish sauce and sugar to the broth and turn off the cooker.

- Pour the broth into a claypot when serving.

For peanut sauce:

- Grind the three items of pepper, peanuts and banana. Pour water to the mixture before cooking it till boiling. Add sugar, fish sauce at your liking and turn off the cooker.

Serving:

- Place the hotpot on the table with small bowls of peanut sauce, rice crackers and other items set around for photo and enjoy.

Foodies can try the tasty hotpot at Pandanus Resort Mũi Né, 3 Nguyễn Hữu Thọ Street in Phan Thiết City. VNS