(QBĐT) - Speaking of great-grandchildren, they are found everywhere in the Central region, but the special flavor can only be found in my hometown's river region.
Perhaps because the Gianh River originates from the Rung stream, at the foot of the 2,017m high Co Pi mountain in the Truong Son range, winding through underground water sources, limestone mountains, streams, creating majestic mountain landscapes, prosperous villages, lush green alluvial plains, condensing into a fresh stream to produce a rich, rustic, and unforgettable variety.
Chat chat is a small mussel species, living mainly in brackish water along Gianh River, especially concentrated in: Quang Hai, Quang Loc, Quang Tan, Quang Thanh, Lien Truong, Phu Canh, Tien Hoa, Van Hoa...
Unlike mussels, the clam is as small as a grain of rice, has a thin shell, and sweet, rich meat. People in my hometown love the clam as if it were a part of their own life. During the years of the subsidy period, our generation grew up on shrimps and prawns caught in the fields, and clams and prawns dug up in the river.
When the Lao wind blew, lunch and dinner had less rice and more sweet potatoes, so my mother cooked more sweet potato soup to fill my stomach. My mother often said: "Com chac, nac nem", meaning if the rice is not enough, add more sweet potato soup, so sweet potato soup became an indispensable dish.
My house is at the end of Gianh River. I remember one day when the water receded in the summer, my mother and my sister carried baskets to the alluvial land where the Kenh Kia River flows to the Hac wharf, stooping to sift through handfuls of sand, looking for each and every sea urchin. After almost the morning, my mother and my sister had found enough baskets of sea urchins to feed the whole family for the day. Looking at the tiny sea urchins, with skins as thin as paper, pale yellow as the morning sun, diving into my mother and my sister's bright eyes, I was extremely happy.
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When I brought the snakehead fish home, my mother soaked it in water to release all the mud and sand, then rubbed it clean and put it in a pot to boil. When the water boiled, the snakehead fish opened its mouth. I used a kitchen chopstick (a large chopstick made of old bamboo) to stir until the snakehead fish meat came off the shell, then stopped. Next, I scooped the snakehead fish out, washed the meat and left the water to settle and used to cook vegetable soup.
Chắt Chàt cooked with any vegetable is delicious, but the best is still water spinach. In the hot summer, cook Chắt Chàt soup to eat to cool down. If you have rice paper, put it in a bowl, scoop Chắt Chàt over it, eat and just "suck it in and listen" to the flavor of the earth and sky.
Time passed, the children raised generations of people in my hometown on the windy and sunny river, now my friends are all in different directions. In 1980, I went to college, graduated, and got a job far from home. Every summer, I got to eat the soup that my mother cooked. And so, the taste of the soup stayed with me for the rest of my life...
Recalling the summer afternoon of 2016, friends had the opportunity to meet in their hometown, by the wharf in Quang Phong, formerly known as Phu Trich wharf. The shop here is not like in the city, but simply made of iron frame, corrugated iron roof, spacious and airy; the wind blowing from the river is cool.
We ordered specialties of Ba Don hometown.
The owner said: "The specialties here are mainly fish, crab, shrimp, crab, stir-fried "chat chat", vermicelli, rice paper, wet rice paper...". My friend ordered and of course could not miss the stir-fried "chat chat", a dish that just mentioned its name and was very attractive. A few minutes later, everything was served, a plate of stir-fried "chat chat" with betel leaves steaming fragrantly on the table, attracting many eyes. Ignoring the dishes that could be found anywhere, looking at the plate of "chat chat", we eagerly invited each other. While eating, we enjoyed the crispy taste of the rice paper mixed with the natural sweetness of "chat chat" meat, the spicy taste of the dipping sauce, creating an indescribably delicious feeling.
Enjoying Chát Chát, not only can you feel the taste of the salty water from the ocean, mixed with the fresh water from the streams that flow into the river, along with the taste of alluvium, but you can also feel the heart of the villagers, who sweat and work hard to bring this delicious and meaningful dish.
On summer days, if you have the opportunity to go up National Highway 12A through Lien Truong and Phu Canh communes, looking out into the middle of Gianh River, you will see boats and groups of people wading in the water to rake for the "chat chat" (a type of sea urchin) and you will see the hardships of making a living. People go raking for the "chat chat" from early morning, when the tide is low, and when the water rises, it is also when the sun is at its zenith. The "chat chat" is brought back to sell whole at rural markets, Ba Don market, or people buy it to process, boil, and prepare the meat to sell to restaurants, hotels...
Along the river, friends chatted and the memories of the countryside welled up. I suddenly remembered some folk songs or poems by someone: Gianh River, sunlight pours golden bamboo/The little children lie in the sand/Mother goes to the market early, silently carrying a basket of children, a few coins of fragrant rice. How beautiful and meaningful! The children hidden in the water, soil, and sand appear in a humble and discreet way; the image of a hard-working mother with a shoulder pole, silently and laboriously making a living for the whole family.
“A basket” of scraps can only be sold for “a few coins” , a small material value but “fragrant” in spiritual value. That “fragrance” is the taste of the homeland, the kindness of the river, the love of a mother, the thriftiness of human life.
Nowadays, when life is full, there are many delicious and strange dishes, but "Chat Chat" is still deeply in the memories of the children of the homeland on both banks of the Gianh River basin, in the North of Quang Binh . "Chat Chat" is present in daily meals as well as in the trays of offerings on death anniversaries, holidays, and important events. "Chat Chat" is not elaborate, not stylized, but retains the salty taste of the river, of the sun, wind and human love; reminding the people of my Central homeland of a hard-working, diligent lifestyle, attached to nature and family traditions.
Therefore, "chất chất" is not just food, but a part of memories, a part of the soul of the homeland that people who go far away carry with them in their nostalgia.
Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202506/chat-chat-song-gianh-hon-que-ky-uc-2226759/
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