3 Octopus Street Food Dishes in Saigon

Octopus is one of Vietnam’s street foods. It can be cooked many ways, from steamed to fried, with all kinds of other ingredients, and these days octopus dishes turn up everywhere from street stalls to well-known restaurants. They are popular with people who live by the sea and with young Vietnamese alike.

How octopus is prepared

Preparing octopus is quick and easy, but the meat is only good when the octopus is fresh. Clean it by scraping it with a little salt and lime, then wash it in water several times, let it dry and cut it into short pieces. From there it goes into one of the three dishes below.

1. Grilled octopus with chilli sauce

Once cleaned, the octopus is marinated with seasonings. When a customer orders, each octopus goes onto the grill. When it is medium cooked, the smell spreads out. After grilling, the seller cuts it into small pieces with scissors and brings it to the table. The dipping sauce is usually salt, pepper and lime.

When this was written, the author suggested eating it on An Duong Vuong street, District 5 (opposite the gate of Su Pham University), or at Gia Dinh Park, Go Vap district.

2. Steamed octopus with ginger

After cleaning, the seller steams the octopus with several slices of ginger, spring onion and chilli for about 10 minutes. Steaming keeps the octopus’s fresh flavour, and the meat is sweet and just tough enough. It comes with a sauce that is a little sour, sweet and hot, to cover the octopus’s strong smell.

You can find this dish everywhere in Saigon, especially at street seafood restaurants.

3. Octopus with raw fish and vegetable

Raw fish and vegetable is the easiest dish to make in Vietnamese street food. After cleaning the octopus, slice it into small pieces and steam it until medium cooked. Mix it with onion, chilli, fried spring onion and Vietnamese coriander (rau răm). The sauce is a mix of lime juice, sugar, pepper and chilli sauce. Wait about 5 minutes and it’s ready to eat.

You can make it at home, or, when this was written, go to 3rd street, block 26, Go Vap district to eat it there or take it home.