Sea mollusks are mollusks that live buried deep in the sand. They appear all year round in coastal alluvial areas in some northern provinces such as Thai Binh, Nam Dinh or Hai Phong.
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Daffodils have legs as long as bean sprouts |
| Cu Hien |
At first glance, seagulls are very similar to boys, but the largest one is only the size of an adult thumb. The cane has a hard, green or red skin. In many other regions, sea urchins are also known as sea buckthorn, because they have long legs, look like bean sprouts, and are crunchy when eaten. The meat is soft and sweet, used as a raw material for many different dishes.
According to local people, with green skin, the flesh will be sweeter, and the legs will be more crispy than other types. Therefore, this type is more expensive, about 160.000 VND/kg.
Ms. Dong Thi Hong (living in TT. Diem Dien), who has been doing business for many years with the traditional profession of making dia salad, shared: “Dia species often hides deep in the sand. Therefore, when processing, they have to soak for a few hours in water for them to release sand. Then wash and cut the feet. The body is boiled briefly to separate the shell. If you need to do it urgently, you have to wash it through many times with water, so you can ensure that you don't mix sand when you eat it."
If in other places, dia is often processed into a stir-fry dish, in Diem Dien, it is made into a famous mixed salad.
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Dill salad mixed with hearing, galangal |
After being cleaned, washed, boiled in a pot of boiling water can be eaten immediately. According to Ms. Hong, if you dip the boiling water too thoroughly, it will lose the crispiness of the diam's feet, making the salad less delicious.
In order to make Diem Dien salad full of flavor, additional ingredients are needed such as: lemongrass leaves, perilla, fig leaves, and hearing. Especially indispensable galangal.
“In the past, the elders taught that galangal has a spicy taste and a warm nature; dandelion is cold. Therefore, when mixing these two dishes, it will help people enjoy a delicious salad without getting a cold stomach. Moreover, galangal is very fragrant, which will overwhelm the fishy taste of diatomaceous earth. When mixing and grinding galangal really well, it will blend with galangal, so that the spicy taste and aroma of galangal will be absorbed," Ms. Hong revealed the secret to making the salad.
After the diatomaceous earth is peeled, the feet are soaked in boiling water, all mixed with lemon leaves, galangal and hearing. Fig leaves and perilla are used to wrap salad when eating.
Dia salad can be enjoyed all year round, but it is most popularly enjoyed by people on the occasion of Tet holiday, or whenever an effective "sickening" dish is needed.
Dia salad tastes strange, crunchy and fragrant with galangal, hearing. The dish is loved by many people because it is quite strange, few places have it but the price is very affordable. Diners from all over the world want to enjoy this dish, just go to the countryside market in TT. Diem Dien to immediately experience the unforgettable taste of dia.
