Cha Ca La Vong (Hanoi Turmeric Cod with Dill)

The dish is almost exclusively Hanoian; it barely appears in southern Vietnamese cooking, and the original La Vong restaurant remains open at the same address today. Firm white fish fillets, traditionally snakehead or catfish, are marinated in a paste of turmeric, galangal, fermented shrimp paste, and rice flour, then pan-fried in oil until the turmeric stains the surface a vivid, saturated yellow and a thin crust forms along the outside. The sizzling pan arrives at the table set over a small tabletop burner and the fish continues to cook as diners add large handfuls of fresh dill and scallion directly into the pan. The herbs wilt almost instantly on contact with the hot oil, and dill's intense anise-forward fragrance fills the table as they do. The visual impact of yellow-stained fish against the bright green dill collapsing into the pan is one of the dish's most recognizable qualities. The fish is eaten spooned over thin rice vermicelli and accompanied by roasted peanuts and additional fresh herbs. The critical element is the dipping sauce: mam tom, a pungent fermented shrimp paste thinned with fresh lime juice and a little sugar, whose funk and acidity cut through the oil and turmeric and transform the flavor of every bite. Few dishes anywhere can claim a single-item restaurant with over a century of unbroken operation, and Cha ca La Vong is one of them.