When visiting Phú Quý Island, travelers will be drawn to its delicious local specialties, considered the island’s maritime delicacies, such as: Phú Quý hot beef, sea urchin, rock oysters, pandan jelly dessert, and more. These dishes are affordable and suitable for large numbers of visitors coming to this beautiful island.

Phú Quý Hot Beef

Another specialty of Phú Quý Island is hot beef. This is tender beef raised on the island for some time; the cattle graze freely on coastal grasslands, so the meat is lean and soft. After butchering, the beef skin is singed with the wood of the ngũ trảo tree, giving it a distinctive aroma. Restaurants serve beef by the kilogram, then prepare it in various styles: grilled rolls, rare beef with lime, beef dipped in vinegar, stir-fried beef, steamed beef with ginger, steamed beef offal, and not to be missed, beef bone soup simmered with lemongrass and beef tendon porridge. To fill up, customers often order a bowl of hot beef porridge. Some well-known hot beef eateries on the island include Hòa Thướng, Ngọc Tình, Thanh Bình, and Thu Viễn.

Phú Quý Sea Urchin

Sea urchin is prepared in many unique and appealing ways. The favorite way is right on the boat, holding freshly caught sea urchins, gently removing the meat with a bamboo stick, then dipping it in mustard mixed with salted lime or soy sauce. The taste is creamy and rich, mingled with the tangy and warm flavors of the spices. For those who prefer more complexity, chili, roasted peanuts, and mustard greens are added for a spicy, pungent, and nutty flavor—just like the islanders who “live with the waves and wind” all year round.

The most well-known dish to try on the island is sea urchin porridge. Fresh sea urchins are cleaned, the meat extracted and marinated with spices, then sautéed with fried shallots and fat. Next to it is a pot of porridge, simmering vigorously. The sea urchin meat is poured into the porridge and stirred until the rice grains swell and the meat turns tender, forming a creamy yellow color. After seasoning with some fish sauce, chopped scallions, coriander, and a sprinkle of pepper, the porridge is ready to eat hot. It is often served with fresh sprouts; mixing them together gives a rich, sweet taste with a bit of creaminess from the sea urchin meat and fat, the fragrance of pepper and herbs, and a slight salty tang from authentic fish sauce of the sea people. For a simpler version, cooks can just add fresh sea urchin meat and roe directly into hot porridge and stir a few minutes for a delicious bowl of sea urchin porridge.

Grilled Rock Oysters with Scallion Oil

Just the name “grilled rock oysters with scallion oil” sounds irresistible. After partially opening the shell, the oysters are placed on hot charcoal emitting fragrant smoke. Then, a little scallion oil is poured over them. While grilling, the sizzling sound of the oil mixing with scallions is so tempting.

Especially, the chewy, crunchy oysters blend perfectly with the richness of scallion oil and a splash of sweet and sour fish sauce. Eating this dish fresh off the grill is simply unbeatable.

Wild Fish Sashimi

Visiting the island without trying wild fish sashimi is a real miss—and don’t eat too much, or you might get addicted and forget your way back to the mainland.

Island fishermen often treat visitors right on their boats or floating villages with sashimi made from fresh seafood such as grouper, leopard coral grouper, tuna, sea shrimp, octopus, squid, and snails. Just add a little wasabi, fresh lime, soy sauce, and perilla leaves to enjoy an authentic Japanese-style meal.