Specialty fish that come out of the ground, use a lamp for 1 hour at night to catch a few kilos, cook into a cool soup

This crustacean has a crab-like shape, lives in holes in the ground near rice fields and is hunted by many people in the Northern Delta to make a rustic dish. Anyone who has ever eaten it will find it hard to forget the taste of this delicious dish.

Night search 1 hour caught 2kg

Mussels live in holes in the soil around canal banks and rice fields. They are small crustaceans with thinner bodies than crabs but with sharp, pointed claws.

Clams are similar to crabs but smell worse.

Many people who first hear about clams frown because this animal has a rather foul smell, which may be unfamiliar to them at first. However, when prepared properly, especially in soup, the flavor makes many people exclaim.

Ms. Thanh Huyen (42 years old, An Lao, Hai Phong ) shared that she has eaten this dish since she was a child.

"When I was a child, I often went fishing with my mother. On summer vacations, when the sun was shining brightly, I still put on my hat and went to the canal or rice field to fish. My childhood was associated with crabs and shrimps. Not everyone knows how to fish for crabs and it is not simple.

The fisherman will use a long bamboo pole, tie a thread to the end of the pole, then tie the bait, usually snail intestines, to carry the hook. Fishing for clams is an art because the fisherman must go gently, to avoid the clams seeing the movement and crawling back into the hole.

The fisherman stands at a distance, drops bait near the hole, and lures the crabs to bite. When the crabs bite the bait, he picks them up, catches them, and puts them in a basket on his hip,” she said.

Catching clams also requires skill, otherwise, the clam will be very painful and may cause bleeding.

Especially, during the rice harvest season, there are many clams living in the fields. Experienced farmers only need to dig a deep hole in the middle of the field, cut the rice around it to "chase" the clams into the hole. After harvesting, just dive into the hole to catch the clams and bring them home to process.

“In the past, every harvest, my mother would catch a whole basket, a whole bucket of clams and bring them home. My sisters and I liked clam soup with jute and Malabar spinach and pickled eggplant the most. That delicious dish has stayed with me until now,” Ms. Huyen recalls.

Currently, although she is a factory worker, Ms. Huyen still keeps the habit of catching crabs whenever she has time. After work, in the evening she takes the opportunity to bring a flashlight to the pond to look for crabs.

“My family has a large pond. At night, I usually take a flashlight out and shine it for an hour and I can find 2kg. There are even more on days right after it rains because that’s when the clams often come out,” she shared.

According to her, catching clams is not difficult, you just need to be patient and quick. When the clams are half out of the hole, you just need to shine the light in the right place to make them “blind” and you can catch them. In the days after the rain, clams come out in large numbers, so the harvest is even more “bumpy”.

“Catching clams to sell is not much, but to eat is not difficult. Every night, just need to look for a while to have a cool clam soup for the whole family the next day,” she said.

In Huyen’s hometown, clams currently cost about 100,000 VND/kg. Although not as expensive as field crabs or high-end seafood, clam soup or clam sauce has a unique flavor that is hard to compare to.

Rustic cuisine preserves the soul of the countryside

People in Hai Phong, Thai Binh and many rural areas in the North often cook clam soup. After catching clams, they are washed, their shells are peeled, pounded or pureed, the water is filtered and then cooked like crab soup.

When the water boils, the clam meat will float with a fatty scum. Add Malabar spinach, jute or water spinach and you will have a pot of fragrant clam soup.

“The clam soup is refreshing and great for cooling down in the summer. The rich sweetness of the clam soup blends with the green vegetables. When eaten with white rice, you will finish the pot of rice without even realizing it,” Ms. Huyen shared.

Besides soup, fish sauce is also a favorite dish. The fish is salted and fermented thoroughly, then the liquid is filtered, poured into a glass bottle, capped with banana leaves and left to dry in the sun. The longer the fish sauce is exposed to the sun, the more delicious, flavorful and long-lasting the aroma.

Clam soup cooked with squash and Malabar spinach is a dish loved by many people in the summer.

Fish sauce is used as a dip for boiled vegetables, pickled eggplant or eaten with vermicelli and tofu, all of which are very appealing.

Although not a luxurious dish, for many people, clams are a part of childhood memories and an indispensable hometown specialty during the summer. People who live in the countryside have eaten them, and even after moving to the city, they still cannot forget the taste of clam sauce.

Fish sauce becomes a gift from the hometown that parents give to their children every time they visit home.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dac-san-chui-ra-tu-dat-dem-soi-den-1-tieng-bat-duoc-vai-kg-nau-canh-mat-ruoi-2408489.html