Binh Thuan is a region with favorable natural conditions for tourism development and unique dishes made from natural ingredients. One of the must-try dishes in Binh Thuan is made from dông, a reptile known as the “desert king”.
1 An Introduction to dông
Dông is a reptile resembling a lizard but larger in size. Referred to as the “chubby toad”, this reptile can be found throughout the year, with its peak growth period during the rainy season from the 3rd to the 5th lunar month. Adult dông can weigh up to 5kg and reach lengths exceeding 30cm.
In Vietnam, dông is commonly found in coastal areas with sandy soil, such as provinces along the Central Coast like Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. This reptile typically inhabits sandy or cycad cultivation areas.
Residents of Binh Thuan catch dông using various methods such as nets, digging sticks, sand digging, traps, and blockades. The reason why dishes made from wild dông are well-loved is because they have sweeter and firmer meat, making them extremely delicious.
2 Introduction to Grilled Dông Dish
Dông can be prepared in numerous delicious ways, including grilled dông, stir-fried dông with lemongrass and chili, dông salad, dông porridge, dông sausage, fried dông eggs with butter, and eggplant rolled with dông. However, the most popular dông dish is grilled dông due to its natural and fragrant flavor, as well as its simple preparation method.
For grilled dông, a large-size dông is usually selected. The skin is peeled, the innards are removed and cleaned, and then the dông is marinated with salt and other spices. After approximately 30 minutes, the dông is grilled on charcoal until the meat becomes firm and golden yellow.
The grilled dông meat is crispy, fragrant, and juicy, with a spicy taste from chili salt. This dish has an alluring aroma that stimulates the senses. Grilled dông can be enjoyed with rice, rice paper rolls, vermicelli, and dipped in a sweet and sour sauce.
This simple yet delicious specialty dish from Binh Thuan is sure to delight. I hope you find this article useful and thank you for reading. Wishing you memorable experiences.
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