“Vinh Hao has a very unique product. The other day I had to go to the village market to buy it. This unique product is called “cat loi” by the locals” - Duong Minh Ky - a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City happily started the story about his memorable trip.
With a group of friends experiencing along the coast of the South Central region, on the way back, past Ca Na Strait, Mr. Ky slowed down the accelerator, asking the people living along the road "where to buy Cat Lo". Finally, he found Vinh Hao market as instructed to buy. "I bought it to send to a relative abroad. This person opened a restaurant. Cat Lo is used to prepare some dishes with a strange smell and taste. Customers really like it", Mr. Minh Ky said and showed his interest: "So strange! Sand can also be used as a spice to prepare dishes. I was also instructed by my relatives on how to make it. It sounded very appealing, so I also bought some to bring home and try to cook".
Having been involved in trading at Vinh Hao market for decades, the stall of Hoai Tam and her mother always has Cat Lo for sale when someone needs to buy. According to Tam, when you bring Cat Lo home, add the right amount of water, wait for it to settle, then put that water into the pot of porridge that is being cooked, the porridge will quickly become soft, saving time and energy for burning. In particular, the porridge is green like pandan porridge, soft, rich and fragrant when eaten. On the occasion of traditional Tet or big offerings, many people often use Cat Lo to make Tet cakes, sweet cakes or cook sweet soup. Like porridge, cakes and sweet soup when cooked with Cat Lo water will quickly become soft, chewy and more fragrant. "This fish season, when the first tuna are caught, people often buy it and cook it with Cat Lo water. Porridge - braised tuna - Cat Lo is both soft, rich, sweet and fatty, early in the morning or late in the evening, eating a bowl is the best in the world", Tam happily described.
In the introduction to resources, the Tuy Phong History Book mentioned that sand is concentrated in the Vinh Hao mineral spring area. The water in this spring contains Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ). According to medical documents, Sodium Bicarbonate has the effect of neutralizing acid, treating stomach pain or detoxifying acid, reducing the amount of oil on the face to avoid skin infections. If used in the right dosage, Sodium Bicarbonate is an additive that has good effects on food processing, baking and tenderizing meat.
“Previously, Tuy Phong district had a large area and reserve of sand, which was exploited and sold raw to companies outside the province. But now, the land area has been reduced due to being allocated to solar power projects and to people for production, so the reserve is not much left. Raw export is also no longer possible, so sand cannot become a commodity product,” said Mr. Nguyen Trung Truc, Chairman of Tuy Phong District People’s Committee.
Sand loi itself cannot become a commodity, but its “transformation” through food processing, if exploited properly, will be a new, unique, and meaningful tourism product for the northern Binh Thuan region, which borders the Ca Na Strait, an already famous stopover. Moreover, in addition to its medicinal and culinary value, sand loi also benefits from the Vinh Hao natural spring water and Vinh Hao seaweed brands when they have the same “geographical indication”. What is even more special, the mineral spring area – Vinh Hao sand loi carries within it a historical anecdote, which is the area that Princess Ngoc Han discovered and named. It is not easy for a tourism product to have such “heaven-sent” elements to write a good – interesting – attractive culinary story.
“In the past, only local people bought it for their own use. Recently, more tourists have come to buy it. They also said they use it to prepare dishes,” said Ms. Hoai Tam.
Mr. Duong Minh Ky and his relatives abroad are not originally from Vinh Hao or Binh Thuan. But somehow, perhaps through exchanges, they learned about the value of Cat Lo. Although it is isolated, it can still be considered as a basis for believing that if “joining hands to implement”, culinary products from Cat Lo Vinh Hao will be a type of tourism product with its own nuances and appeal. Could such a “heavenly gift” be forgotten?
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