Ca bo hom is a rare and precious aquatic creature found in waters off Ninh Thuan to Binh Thuan provinces. However, the most delicious fish live in the Vung To area of Dong Hoa Town in PhuYen province.

Local people say boxfish live in lagoons, bays and around reefs. They look strange with a very hard skeleton and black spotted skin with many hexagonal scales that fit together and look like a box.

Despite the unattractive appearance, boxfish is a famous specialty of Phu  Yen. The flesh looks like chicken, but is tastier. 

Boxfish is expensive, selling from hundreds of thousand of dong to millions of dong per kilogram, depending on their size. The bigger the fish are, the more expensive. Fresh fish is more expensive than frozen by VND200-250,000 per kilogram. The prices sometimes are sky high at VND2 million per kilogram, but still hunted by well-off families.

Phuong Anh, the owner of a floating restaurant in Vung Ro bay, said boxfish are even more expensive than lobster because there are few fish in the wild. The fish grows very slowly with one-kilogram gain every 3-4 years. It is difficult to catch them with nets.

“We can only collect 5-7 kilograms of boxfish or less. And we have to collect from several farmers to get enough for processing. The average retail price is VND1.3 million (one kilogram consists of 2-3 fish),” she said.

“Bigger fish are selling at high prices. The fish weighing 1.5-2 kilograms and kept fresh carried to Hanoi and HCM City can be sold at VND2-2.5 million per kilogram,” she said.

Despite the prices, boxfish are still favored by gourmets. Boxfish can be used to make many dishes such as steamed fish, fish porridge, fish soup or dried slated shredded fish. However, the most delicious and popular is grilled boxfish.

After the fish is cleaned, it is grilled on a charcoal stove. When cooked, the scales are peeled off, revealing the pure white, fragrant meat.

“The grilled fish will be more delicious when rolled with rice paper, herbs or sliced ​​mango, cucumber, and dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce,” said Thanh Mai, a diner in HCM City.

Thao Trinh