M'nong people is using Polyscias leaves pounded with stream fishes to make delicious, attractive, unique dish. M'nong people is also consider this is very healthy food.
The preparation of stream fishes is relatively simple. Therefore, this dish is also regularly processed in daily meals of many families. People often use the fishes caught in streams, rivers, fields for processing such as Lentils, catfish, carp, white fish, peacock bass, hypophthalmichthys, tilapia… Fishes are scrapped, leaving intestine, and gill. The fish fins, swim bladders are preserved. All of the fresh fishes are washed, drain, then let fry on hot oil. Let fry on low to medium heat, turn the fish sides evenly until golden ripe. The outside skin is crispy. Finished fried fish should be peeled the meat, remove the bones.
After frying, fish meat is peeled off
The second most important ingredient is polyscias leaf. With many years of accumulated experience, the M'nong people in the province consider polyscias leaves as precious medicinal herbs, containing many healthy compounds, especially anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and digestive aid, nourishing body…Nowadays, many M'nong Families plant polyscias tree in their home gardens to facilitate medicine and cooking. To process this dish, The M'nong people choose to pick leaves that are neither too young nor too old. The leaves are leaved the stalk, put into the mortar and crushed with pestle.
The M'nong people consider the polyscias leaf a precious vegetable
After the polyscias leaves are crushed, add spice with a little salt, seasoning crush well, and put some ripe or green chili into the bowl, continue crushing into a mixture of chili salt and poyscias leaves. M'nong families, who love spicy food will put more chili. Chily used to be wild chili or Siamese chili, hot red chili. Finally, just add the meat and fish, which is ready to prepare the above mixture, pounding the ingredients until blend together.
The stream fishes pounded with polyscias leaves get more delicious meal
The stream fishes with polyscias leaves is dried dish with green color of polyscias leaves, mix with white color of fish. Delicious fried fish, firm and crispy meat, mixed with the aroma of polyscias leaves, losing the fishy flavor of the fish… The dish has a salty taste that is just enough, rich, served with a bowl of fragrant hot rice or a piece of sticky rice, sticky rice is extremely delicious.
(source: baodaknong.org.vn, Đ.H translated)