Specialty fish "sold out"

The gourami lives in fresh water but is picky about the water. The fish only lives in clean, clear water without environmental pollution, so currently in Binh Thuan, the fish are concentrated in Ham Thuan - Da Mi and Ham Thuan Bac lakes.

Processing the fish is quite elaborate. Photo: N.Lan

Follow the boat to catch fish

Get out of the boat, man.

What! It's only 2am. Why did you say you'd leave at 4am yesterday?

Yes, last night, director Minh said that fish were "out of stock" so we had to leave earlier than usual to increase catch...

Oh my! In the Ham Thuan - Da Mi lake, the weather was bone-chillingly cold. The mist and water vapor mixed together and hovered over the lake, creating shapes like a magical painting. The headlights of the small boat seemed to break the peaceful silence of the lake. With only five minutes of preparation and not forgetting to wear a thick 2-layer windbreaker, a scarf and a hat to cover my head, I got into the boat with Chat and his brothers to catch bream.

Ham Thuan Lake fishing village catches lingcod. Photo by Trinh Cong Thuan

The small boat was fitted with a net frame in front of the bow that could be adjusted up and down in a triangle shape so that the fishing net could start to "set sail". The wind blew the water vapor into my face, cold and numbing, not unlike the scene in Hanoi and the northern provinces that were suffering from severe cold. In Ham Thuan - Da Mi lake, there was no snow but there was "fog and smoke that obscured human figures", so even though I was fishing, I was still daydreaming with the beautiful scenery of mountains, forests, rivers and lakes in the light of the boat's headlights. The boat was running smoothly when I heard Chat command: Lower the net, the school of fish is swimming towards the middle of the lake. Immediately, Chat's younger brother lowered the net and accelerated the boat to the central area of the school of fish. The boat only ran 3m more when Chat ordered again: Raise the net, gather the fish. I was standing there watching and didn't have time to understand what was going on when I saw the two Chat brothers using a net to scoop fish from the net and put them into a specialized fish container. The first net caught about 5 kg. Chat said happily: “Today we have a good catch of fish, this must be 3 times more than usual. As expected, in just 2 hours of floating on the lake, Chat and his brothers' boat caught more than 20 kg of bream. While they were fishing well, Chat turned the boat back to shore. I was quite surprised so I asked Chat: Why are you not catching more when the catch is so good?” Soaked in water and breathing out cold smoke, Chat said: “Too much fish, if we can’t process it in time, the quality of the fish won’t be guaranteed, so this is a lot, bro…”.

The fish has a long, slender body about the size of an index finger, and its meat is white and transparent like anchovies living in the sea. The fish is easily recognized by its long mouth like two pincers, so in addition to the name "lim kim", some places call it "ca kim". The fish lives on the surface of the water, its main food is plankton and algae. Because the fish lives in clean water, its meat is almost not fishy, but is very sweet and has a characteristic aroma that cannot be confused with other fish living in freshwater. The fish reproduces quickly, the peak fishing season is from April to October every year, when there is a lot of rain and there is an abundant amount of food. Mr. Nguyen Chat, who specializes in catching and processing "lam kim", said: The fish is small and lives on the surface of the water, so catching it with a net like any other fish is not possible. After much research, his family was able to create a way to catch "lam kim" with a scoop net attached to the bow of the motorboat. Catching "lam kim" is also very laborious, that is, you have to choose the time when the fish are feeding a lot to catch it effectively. During the day, the fish swim on the surface of the water but are very shy. When they hear the sound of splashing water, they dive deep into the lake. Therefore, you have to wait for 3-4am or 7-8pm or when it gets dark, when the fish go out to feed in schools, then you can catch a full catch. Each day, his family only catches 5-7kg of fresh fish, on the most hectic days, they catch about tenkg.

Fishing boat for scad on Ham Thuan Lake. Photo: Trinh Cong Thuan

New specialty of Ham Thuan Bac

In addition to the difficulty of catching, the process of processing dried fish is even more elaborate. Because the fish is only as big as a finger, cutting the meat requires patience and 2-3 people to do it in the fastest time to keep the fish fresh. The time to prepare the fish is considered the key step to bring delicious fish quality, the fish is also cut while still alive because if the fish dies, if left for a long time, the fish will spoil, the fish meat when dried will have a smell and will no longer be sweet, fragrant with the original flavor of the fish. After catching the fish, remove the head, intestines, fins, then split the fish body in half, wash it, soak it in diluted salt water, then dry it for 1-2 days in the sun, at this time the fish will look white and quite eye-catching...

Freshly caught bream can be made into salad, mixed with herbs, wild vegetables, and a little sweet and sour fish sauce, and eaten raw, it is absolutely delicious. With sun-dried fish, just put it in the oven for 2 minutes and it is ready to eat. If fried, when the oil is hot, it only takes 20 seconds for the fish to be golden brown and crispy. Fried fish can be dipped in chili sauce, soy sauce, or fish sauce. There is nothing better than a plate of bream with a little chili sauce for dinner. For those who like to snack, this is a favorite dish because the fish is still crispy but soft after frying, has a slightly sweet taste and is very fragrant, so... everyone is addicted.

Because the lim kim fish is being caught in the wild and no one has raised it, the amount of fish is not much. Meanwhile, the market consumption of the specialty dried lim kim is very strong. In the province, only Ham Thuan - Da Mi fishing village exploits this product. Da Mi Tourism Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has purchased the product for the fishing village to help people living on the lake have a stable income. The dried lim kim fish product packaged and sold by the company is of high quality, so many domestic tourists seek to buy it.

These days, the "sold out" of the "sold out" fish and the story of how the "sold out" fish became a specialty that many people "hunt" for today is also very coincidental. Mr. Mai Van Minh - Director of Da Mi Tourism Investment and Development Joint Stock Company said: "I did not expect that dried lem kim fish products would be so "in demand". The company tried to stock up for Tet, but customers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces and cities suddenly took a large quantity, leaving the company unable to react... Previously, lem kim fish were only caught by fishermen for fun, no one paid attention, even though it was very delicious. Once in early 2023, I brought crispy fried lem kim fish with chili sauce to invite a group of Hanoi tourists who were taking a cruise to admire the lake to enjoy a bite, unexpectedly the customers praised it as delicious and placed an order. At that time, no one thought of processing lem kim fish into a commercial product for sale, so we figured out how to make it to meet the demand for orders from customers and the amount of fish served on-site for visitors to the lake. Then the group of tourists from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces and cities in the country whispered to each other about the crispy fried lem kim fish dish of Ham Lake. Thuan. So in recent months it has been selling very well and has naturally become a new specialty of Ham Thuan Bac and Binh Thuan traveling throughout Vietnam...

Therefore, the fishermen in Da Mi commune are very happy because they have a better income than every year thanks to catching and processing the fish. Currently, the quantity of goods is quite scarce, so people are increasing the catching and processing, but the dried fish still cannot meet the market demand...

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