A specialty that grows abundantly after the rain, no one knew about it in the past, but now people use lamps all night to pick and sell it: Termite mushrooms.

Natural termite mushroom specialties are sold at the Long Khanh Fruit Festival 2024. Photo: B.Nguyen

The formation and growth of termite mushrooms depends on the saliva secreted by worker termites and spread in the soil. This unique mushroom only grows in the natural environment, so it is very nutritious and has many health benefits. Therefore, consumers are willing to pay a high price to enjoy this "expensive but worth it" specialty.

Termite mushroom specialty is increasingly scarce

This year, the drought has been prolonged, the rainy season has come later than usual, so the termite mushroom season has also started later. Mr. Nguyen Van Den, a termite mushroom hunter in Xuan Loc district, shared that for the past few weeks, he has been to many places but still has not found termite mushrooms.

Termite mushrooms only grow in a natural environment, so they are becoming increasingly rare and hard to find because the source of wasteland is almost gone. Land used for agricultural exploitation, even rubber plantations and planted forests today are also heavily affected by chemical fertilizers and pesticides, so they are no longer a favorable environment for termite mushrooms to grow.

It is currently the beginning of the season, so the price of good termite mushrooms ranges from 800,000 VND to 1 million VND/kg, while blooming termite mushrooms are cheaper from 400,000 to 600,000 VND/kg. When the source of termite mushrooms is more abundant, the selling price may be lower than at the beginning of the season, ranging from 500,000 to 700,000 VND/kg for bud mushrooms, blooming mushrooms range from 200,000 to 400,000 VND/kg.

Many years ago, when termite mushrooms were abundant, this specialty was often sold on sidewalks and roadsides of many roads in the countryside at a fairly "soft" price. When termite mushrooms were in full bloom, buyers only needed to pay over 100,000 VND to buy 1kg of delicious termite mushrooms.

Long Khanh City is known as an area with many establishments purchasing and trading termite mushrooms from many different provinces and cities with an abundant supply known to customers everywhere.

During the peak season, along Hung Vuong Street near Long Tho Pagoda and along the small market area of ​​Xuan Thanh Ward in Long Khanh City, there are many places selling termite mushrooms on the sidewalk at affordable prices for consumers to choose from. Nowadays, the quantity of natural termite mushrooms is gradually becoming scarce, the price of termite mushrooms is often high, sometimes up to a million VND/kg, so this specialty is no longer sold on the sidewalk as before.

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, a termite mushroom trader in Long Khanh city, compared a few years ago, his facility could collect on average several quintals of mushrooms per day. But now, at most he can only collect 1-1.5 quintals per day. Previously, the source of termite mushrooms collected from Dong Nai was still abundant, but now the collection area must be expanded to many other provinces and cities such as: Ba Ria - Vung Tau , Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong...

When the mushroom source was still abundant, this was a delicacy that was sold quite popularly in restaurants in many localities. Mr. Binh added that in the past, restaurants were the customers who consumed termite mushrooms in large, stable quantities. But now, many restaurants no longer include termite mushrooms in their menus, and those that still sell them only order small quantities because the price of termite mushrooms has increased too much.

According to Mr. Huynh Huy Khiem, manager of Cay Dua restaurant (Bien Hoa city), for the past 2-3 weeks, the restaurant has added special dishes made from natural termite mushrooms to the menu. However, due to the scarce supply, they are not available every day. The current price of termite mushrooms is 3 times higher than 10 years ago, and each year, this item increases by 10-15%. The price is high, but it does not mean you need it. 10 years ago, the restaurant could buy 50-70kg, but now it can only buy 10-15kg/day and it is not available every day, so sometimes diners have to wait to enjoy this delicious dish.

The way to process termite mushrooms is often simple to keep the original quality and flavor of the delicious dish given by nature.

Termite Mushroom - A delicious dish that doesn't require sophistication

Termite mushrooms are a gift from nature and only appear for a short time during the year, so diners are willing to pay a high price to enjoy them. However, to sell them at a specialty price, both the harvester and the seller must take meticulous care from the mushroom picking to the preservation process.

According to some places that specialize in purchasing and trading termite mushrooms in Long Khanh city, termite mushrooms are expensive so they are quite picky about buyers. Customers are mainly consumers in large urban areas. Accordingly, businesses that sell this item mainly advertise and sell termite mushrooms on social networking sites, and the products are delivered to customers all over the country.

According to mushroom pickers, termite mushrooms are found in many semi-mountainous and mountainous areas. They often grow in clumps, hidden under layers of rotten leaves and have no specific location, making them very difficult to find.

In particular, termite mushrooms usually bloom from 3-5 am, so termite mushroom hunters often have to go at night. Preserving mushrooms also has its own secrets, from meticulous selection to proper preservation to ensure the freshness of this natural gift.

Ms. Pham Thi Thao Vy, a specialist in purchasing and trading natural termite mushrooms in the Long Khanh market area, shared: “I used to love eating termite mushrooms, then I switched to business because I saw the high value of this rare specialty. People who like this specialty will enjoy it when it is in season and do not hesitate to buy it.”

According to Ms. Thao Vy, termite mushroom business also requires accumulating experience to find the secret to preserving the mushrooms to keep them fresh and delicious. Termite mushrooms are also susceptible to worms, when the mushrooms rot, they are no longer fragrant and sweet, so you have to be meticulous from the initial selection stage. Termite mushrooms also have a large loss, from the moment they are opened in the box, they have lost weight. Therefore, people who do business in this item all have their own secret in preservation to limit loss and especially keep the mushrooms at their freshest when delivered to customers.

Mr. Huynh Huy Khiem (Bien Hoa city) commented that termite mushroom is a fresh and delicious ingredient with its own unique flavor, so the processing method is very simple to keep the original quality and flavor of this natural delicacy. The main delicious dishes made from termite mushroom include: grilled termite mushroom, stir-fried termite mushroom with garlic, stir-fried with squash, stir-fried with betel leaves, cooked with porridge... The most important thing is to have fresh and delicious mushroom ingredients. Therefore, the amount of mushrooms purchased is often sold by the restaurant within 1-2 days to ensure the most complete flavor of the dish.

Source: https://danviet.vn/loai-dac-san-moc-len-tua-tua-sau-mua-xua-khong-ai-biet-nay-dan-soi-den-ca-dem-hai-ban-nam-moi-20240701172140766.htm