1A few words about chip chips
If you’ve just heard the name chip chip, if you’re not a coastal person, you probably won’t be able to imagine what this is, right? Chip chip is a mollusk, belonging to the silk clam family, living mainly in the Da Nang sea area. Especially from the Dragon Bridge area to Thuan Phuoc Bridge, during the chi chip season, boats can be seen fishing this type of seafood densely throughout the river.
The familiar lemongrass steamed chipotle dish in Da Nang is loved by many diners
The outside of the chip is blue, with a striped pattern on the shell. When cooked, it turns golden. Therefore, to cook delicious lemongrass steamed chips, the experience is to choose ones that are dark green in color, with the legs sticking out, showing that they are still alive, and when steamed, they will be sweeter. As for those that have discolored, are definitely dead or barely alive, the taste will be less delicious.
Chip chip is quite small in size compared to other species of the same clam family. So there is also less sand inside their intestines. Thanks to that, the processing will be very fast, there is no need to be fussy and do many steps to release all the sand. Depending on where it lives, the chip’s intestines will be opaque white or purple. Da Nang chip will mainly be opaque white.
Chip chip is similar to clams and can be processed into many delicious dishes
Mining chip chips is a familiar profession of Da Nang people. Being a riverside resident, there is no one who doesn’t know how to rake and treat chip chips. Fishing for this type of seafood is similar to fishing for clams and mussels, but because the chips are concentrated near the tank entrance, the exploitation process is a bit more difficult.
Chips in Da Nang are very valuable, because no seafood restaurant lacks this dish, especially steamed chips with lemongrass. This is also considered a specialty of Da Nang, so visitors coming here want to taste it.
The job of scratching chips has been attached to many Da Nang people, although it is difficult, it is their livelihood.
In the past, chip chips did not have the same price as they do now, they were mainly sold cheaply and local people bought them to cook soup, stir-fry with mud, cook vermicelli… But when Da Nang tourism developed, it opened up opportunities for this profession to gain popularity. Higher wages and chips sold to restaurants will bring more stable income to people. In the past, the price of a kilogram of chips was only 25,000 VND, but now people can easily sell them for 60,000 – 80,000 VND, even if the supply is not enough to meet demand, because mining is now more difficult, and the source of chips is not enough. still abundant as in previous years.
So even though the chip mining profession is quite difficult and even dangerous, there are still many people who stick with it for life. Although this profession is not rich, it is still considered a livelihood, especially for the elderly who have been attached to the river all their lives.
See more: Da Nang durian sweet soup – Delicious dish that cannot be denied
2Steamed chips with lemongrass
In Da Nang, seafood dishes are always the most favorite choice of tourists. Shrimp, crab, fish, octopus, squid… are all familiar types that can be enjoyed anywhere. Therefore, dishes made from chipotle on the menu are even easier to attract diners, the cuteness of this name is a huge plus.
If you eat lemongrass steamed chips at a restaurant, you will see that the dish is beautifully presented, the aroma of lemongrass is outstanding, the steamed water is sweet, and the chip chip meat is soft and chewy. It seems that preparing it will require skillful professional hands, but in reality this dish is very easy to make.
Steamed chipotle with lemongrass at Da Nang restaurants is very easy to make at home
You just need to prepare lemongrass plants, 1kg of chipotles, about 7 to 10 lemongrass plants is enough. Along with that is seasoning powder, onions, and cilantro. If you eat it at home, the steamed chip chipotle will be left over. You can also use it to cook a super delicious pot of cabbage soup, spinach soup or luffa soup.
The first step, you need to wash the chips, soak them in a little salt water for about 15 – 30 minutes to let them release all the sand and soil. Next, wash the lemongrass, crush it and put it in the pot. Then put the chips in the bowl and lift them onto the stove. Note that there is no need to add water, the chip will release water on its own. Although it is little, the water is very sweet.
The steaming process should be over low heat and seasoned to taste. About 5 – 10 minutes depending on the volume, the lemongrass steamer will be cooked. Before turning off the heat, add a little cilantro on top, both eye-catching and fragrant. It’s best to eat chip chips while they’re still steaming. You can eat the liquid right away or chop some vegetables and cook them into a delicious soup to cool you down.
Steamed lemongrass chips are quick to prepare, the ingredients are simple and easy to make
Remember to prepare an extra cup of chili fish sauce to eat with it. Fish sauce mixed with sugar, a squeeze of lemon, and a few slices of chili is perfect. Usually, 1kg of steamed chips takes 2 to 3 people to eat. Because the meat is small, people often enjoy it, not eat it to the fullest. Sitting and drinking, catching prey and chatting about stories is also appropriate.
See more: Da Nang salt yogurt – Familiar yet strange, strange yet familiar
3Where to buy chips?
If you come to Da Nang to travel, you will definitely eat steamed lemongrass chips at the restaurant. You can’t spend time buying chips to cook yourself like Vietnamtravelio’s instructions, right? As for where to eat, you can rest assured, every restaurant you visit will have this dish ready to serve.
But the good thing is that now in Saigon you can also buy chip chips. Especially at seafood markets, people in the Central region will often transport goods for sale, including chips. So if you miss the taste of Da Nang, just run to the market to make a couple of kilos of chipotle, steam lemongrass, and sit and sip on the weekend, there’s nothing better.
You can buy chip chipotle at seafood markets, prepare a pot of steamed chip chipotle with lemongrass yourself, waiting for the day you can enjoy this dish in Da Nang itself.
In particular, chip chip in Saigon also has a more beautiful name: green silk. Probably because people found them similar to silk clams, this name was born, easier to remember than the name chip chip – cute but not the same as the name of a type of seafood. The selling price of chips in Saigon is not much higher than in Da Nang, the regular type is about 80,000 VND/kg, the slightly larger type can be around 100,000 VND/kg. In addition to steamed chips with lemongrass, you can also stir-fry with cinnamon leaves, stir-fry with garlic butter, stir-fry with satay… all are very delicious. Because it belongs to the clam family, the way to prepare it is very diverse, feel free to vary it to your liking.
Steamed chipotle with lemongrass is a delicious dish in Da Nang, but it’s so simple and familiar that now in Saigon, if you crave it, you have to go buy it and prepare it to satisfy your cravings. If you have enjoyed this dish, you will see that steamed chipotle with lemongrass is not inferior to steamed clams with lemongrass or steamed clams, and is even better at catching prey. During the long months of the epidemic, we can’t go to Da Nang right away. Let’s just make a pot of chipotle to eat first, wait for the day we arrive in the beautiful coastal city, stop by a restaurant to make up for 5 more servings to satisfy our needs. remember.
Vietnamtravelio wishes you to enjoy the delicious lemongrass steamed chips, and enjoying this dish right in Da Nang is certainly much more delicious.
