This special "squirming, plump" fish is only available in season in Hai Phong.

(Dan Tri) - In the 10th lunar month, people in Vinh Bao (Hai Phong) are excited to go get blood worms. Some blood worms pond owners said that this year the blood worms are big and fresh, with the price at the beginning of the season ranging from 250,000 VND to 300,000 VND.

For many years, blood worms have become a specialty sought after by many people at the end of the year (around the 10th lunar month).

People still jokingly call it "heaven's gift". This specialty is currently in season, so some areas in the North such as Kim Thanh, Hai Duong (old) now part of Hai Phong or Vinh Bao (Hai Phong) are bustling with people catching worms.

Specialties that can only be eaten in season in Hai Phong. Looks horrible but tastes delicious ( Video source: Xuan Hanh).

Mr. Xuan Hanh, the owner of a worm pond in Vinh Bao ( Hai Phong ) said that this year the worm harvest is good so the price is better than every year. Large fresh worm costs 350,000 VND/kg. Smaller worm costs about 300,000 VND/kg. The plump, wriggling worms swimming in the water make the pond owner like Mr. Hanh very excited.

Rươi is a specialty dish that can only be eaten in season (Photo: Mini Chan).

Similarly, Ms. Hanh Hai, owner of a worm pond in Lien Hoa beach, Kim Thanh, Hai Duong (old) now part of Hai Phong, said that the price of worm at the beginning of the season is always higher than the main season. This year, many pond owners have a bumper harvest of worm, so the price only fluctuates from 250,000 VND to 300,000 VND/kg.

"Compared to previous years, the price of rươi has cooled down a lot. This year is the time when housewives can buy rươi at a reasonable price and fresh," said Ms. Hanh Hai.

Sharing his experience in choosing fresh and delicious blood worms, the pond owner revealed that housewives should choose large, brightly colored, plump and starchy worms. Some people say that red blood worms are delicious, but the pond owner said that in reality, the color of the blood worms will depend on the gender. For example, pink or red blood worms are male, while female blood worms with eggs will be green.

Catching earthworms in Vinh Bao, Hai Phong (Photo: Duc Huy).

Every time the season of rươi comes, Ms. Thu Lan (Hoang Mai ward, Hanoi) calls the familiar pond owner in Kim Thanh to order 10kg to eat gradually. When receiving the customer's order, the pond owner will clean the rươi and let it dry. After that, the rươi is put in a box and transported to Hanoi early by shared vehicle with a shipping fee of 100,000 VND.

If the customer orders more, the pond owner will put the worms in a styrofoam box and add a little water. At this time, the worms can still swim in the water. With air to breathe, the worms will stay fresh for about 24 hours.

"This year, the price of rươi is very reasonable, only about 350,000 VND/kg. In previous years, there were times when I had to buy it for nearly 500,000 VND/kg. Each kilo of rươi is estimated to contain about 500-600 worms, which I will divide into small boxes to store in the refrigerator to eat gradually. Frozen rươi can be used all year round, so when the rươi season comes, I will buy about ten kilos for convenience in transportation," said Ms. Lan.

With fresh blood worms, Ms. Lan usually makes a fragrant and fatty dish. The indispensable ingredients include green onions, dill, onions, fresh chili, Vietnamese coriander, betel leaves, tangerine peel, gac leaves, star fruit, and ginger leaves.

Indispensable ingredients to make fried shrimp rolls (Photo: Huong Anh).

All ingredients are chopped, add ground pork, a little fish sauce, pepper, a few eggs and then beat well. After putting the pan on the stove, waiting for the fat to get hot and keeping the heat at medium, the housewife will scoop each mixture to fry. The heat is kept at a low level until the shrimp paste is golden brown on both sides and then taken out to eat hot.

Depending on each family's preparation method, the dish of fried worm cake is slightly different. Some families do not want to eat too much oil, so they put the worm mixture in banana leaves and place them on the stove to cook gradually.

Or another way is to fry the shrimp paste in an air fryer. When eating, people will enjoy it with sweet and sour dipping sauce and raw vegetables to reduce the richness.

Bloodworms are polychaete worms that adapt to brackish water environments and can live in estuaries and alluvial plains, where fresh and salt water mix.

Adult worms are 7-10cm long, about 0.5cm wide, pink or green.

Looking at the appearance, many people are afraid of blood worms, but in fact this is a nutritious food containing lots of protein and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc.

Rươi is also processed into many specialties such as rươi rolls, braised rươi, stir-fried rươi...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/loai-dac-san-con-nhung-nhuc-beo-tron-toi-mua-moi-duoc-an-o-hai-phong-20251208161436927.htm