Jellyfish season in Bai Ngang

The Bai Ngang area consists of 7 coastal villages, my village belongs to Bai Doc, separated by the Mai Giang River (also known as the Mo River). Although I am not a coastal person, throughout my childhood, jellyfish became the thing that my friends and I looked forward to every March. Looking forward to it was not only a childhood pleasure, but also a dish with a strong taste of the countryside.

Perhaps, there is no dish as simple and easy to make as jellyfish. Following the waves, jellyfish drift ashore. On lucky days, we just need to go to the Mo River to catch some jellyfish without having to run out to sea. We catch the jellyfish, use a knife or a stick to cut around to get the edges and legs. Then use sea sand to rub many times to clean the outer membrane and the slime on the legs. The discarded jellyfish parts, we will cut into small pieces and play with each other. The jellyfish slices will then become crystal clear, and in our eyes at that time are no different from sparkling diamonds.

After playing around enough, we brought the jellyfish home for our mother to clean, rinsed it with water several times before cutting it into bite-sized pieces. At that time, the jellyfish would be placed in a basin, waiting for the pot of acrid leaves to cool down before adding it. The acrid leaves here include guava leaves or Indian almond leaves, washed and crushed, then boiled thoroughly to get the water. When the water was lukewarm, we poured it into the basin to soak the jellyfish. Thanks to this pot of acrid leaves, the jellyfish became firmer, had a light yellow color, and especially, it did not taste fishy, and did not cause stomachache.

At this time, whoever is craving can pick up a piece of jellyfish to eat first. But honestly, if you eat jellyfish without a bowl of shrimp paste (shrimp paste), it would be a huge mistake. My mother poured the shrimp paste into a small bowl, mixed it with a little MSG, added some hot chili, and squeezed lemon juice, all of which were whipped up. The jellyfish was scooped into two bowls, everyone gathered around, slowly picked up a piece of jellyfish, dipped it in the shrimp paste, and brought it to their mouths. The jellyfish legs were crunchy, while the jellyfish body looked like pieces of jelly just taken out of the refrigerator. The salty taste of the jellyfish, the shrimp paste, the spicy taste of the chili, the astringent taste of guava leaves, all seemed to melt in the mouth.

Unlike in the past, jellyfish has now become a specialty that is brought to restaurants, or distributed to big cities to make salads, eaten with vermicelli, etc. Therefore, going to the sea to catch jellyfish is not an easy task. In the last years of his life, for some reason, my father suddenly craved jellyfish. Knowing that my father craved jellyfish, when it was convenient to go to the market, my sister would buy a bowl for my father to eat to satisfy his craving. On days when my sister was busy with work and could not come to my house, my father would personally go to the market to buy some. The house was a few hundred meters from the market, so it was only a ten-minute walk. Unfortunately, that year was the last time my father got to eat jellyfish, and jellyfish were also scarce at that time, not as abundant as before.

Jellyfish season is back this year. I have been away from home for more than ten years, but every March, my heart still aches, and I don't know how to soothe it.

QUYNH YEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/mua-sua-ve-bai-ngang-post788324.html