cá chiên
Definition
- Noun:
- Fried fish: A common Vietnamese dish where a whole fish or fish fillets are fried in oil until crispy and golden brown. It is a staple preparation method in Vietnamese cuisine.
- (Rare, specific) Catfish: In some older or specialized contexts (e.g., zoology), it can refer to a type of catfish (bagre), but this usage is uncommon in everyday language.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Bữa trưa hôm nay có món cá chiên. (Today's lunch has fried fish.)
- Mẹ tôi chiên cá rất giòn. (My mother fries fish very crispy.)
- Cá chiên thường được ăn với cơm và nước mắm. (Fried fish is usually eaten with rice and fish sauce.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used for the cooked dish. To specify the type of fish being fried, the fish name is placed before "cá chiên" (e.g., - fried snakehead fish).
Variants and Related Words
- Cá rán (n): A synonym for "cá chiên," more common in Northern Vietnam. Also means fried fish.
- Chiên (v): The verb "to fry." is a noun phrase formed from this verb.
- Cá kho (n): Braised fish, another popular Vietnamese fish dish.
Synonyms
- Fried fish: The direct and most accurate translation for the culinary term.
Related Idioms
- There are no common idioms directly using the phrase "cá chiên."