Go to Go Cong to "Eat blood worms in September, eat shrimp paste in October"

Shrimp is sometimes called sea shrimp because its shape resembles a miniature freshwater shrimp, called sea shrimp but its body is as small as a toothpick. Shrimp's food is plankton microorganisms in seawater. Shrimp's body is transparent, looking at it it seems like there is no meat at all, but when processed into a dish, sea shrimp gives a very rich flavor. Coming to Go Cong, Tien Giang province during the monsoon season, it is easy to feel the taste of sea shrimp everywhere, especially in the coastal communes of Tan Thanh and Tan Dien.

Shrimp season in Go Cong usually starts around May to October (lunar calendar), young people with strong health go to the sea to "push shrimp". Shrimp are picked clean of trash, washed, squeezed to drain water and processed into many attractive dishes.

The first and simplest is the dry stir-fried shrimp dish. After adding oil to the pan, wait for it to heat up, add the shrimp and stir-fry quickly with chopsticks, then add fish sauce, sugar, onions and garlic. When the shrimp is dry and turns reddish brown, turn off the heat and add a little pepper. This stir-fried shrimp dish is delicious with porridge, hot rice or cold rice. Fresh sea shrimp cooked in soup with vegetables such as squash, bitter melon, mixed vegetables, gourd, pumpkin is wonderful, not only delicious but also nutritious and cool.

If the harvest is good and there is not enough shrimp to eat, people dry it to make dried shrimp. On sunny days, people dry shrimp in front of the porch or on the roof. Shrimp in the right sunlight, a handful of shrimp eaten raw can still taste delicious. If you mix dried shrimp with lettuce, vermicelli, herbs, onions, cilantro and a little fish sauce and garlic, it becomes a salad with a rich taste of the sea. On rainy days, the simplest dish in the house is dried shrimp fried with lemongrass and chili. Just heat cooking oil, then stir-fry chopped shrimp and lemongrass, then add fish sauce and sugar, and use chopsticks to stir until the shrimp is dry.

This dish is simple but very tasty, especially on cold days. Or even simpler, fried dried shrimp with eggs. First, stir-fry the shrimp with fried garlic, season with a little fish sauce and salt, then put the shrimp in a bowl, let it cool slightly, then pour the stir-fried shrimp into the eggs, stir well. Season to taste, put in a pan to fry. This fried shrimp with eggs has a special aroma, is very delicious, and is a childhood memory of many people from the coastal region.

The most elaborate and unique is still the sour shrimp paste that Go Cong people often treat guests or give as gifts to people from far away when they come to this place. The way to make sour shrimp paste is similar to shrimp paste, which means you need fresh shrimp, sugar, good fish sauce, white wine mixed together, put in a jar, cover tightly, dry in the sun for half a month and then it is ready to use.

Some people also add garlic and galangal to the fish sauce to make it more delicious. If it is called sour shrimp paste, of course it must have a sour taste due to the fermentation of alcohol and sugar, it has a slightly salty taste, is thin like shrimp paste, has a light pink color, and is whole and not crushed like shrimp paste or shrimp paste.

When the house runs out of food, we just need to scoop out a bowl of sour shrimp paste, add a chili and we can eat it with hot rice. However, to make it more attractive, sour shrimp paste can be eaten with boiled pork belly, green banana, herbs and then dipped in sour shrimp paste, it will be even more delicious.

Coming to Go Cong, we can understand the saying: "September eats rươi, October eats ruốc" to be able to feel the rich sweetness of the sea absorbed and crystallized from the ruốc that our grandparents have summarized into the folk song:

“Roasted sesame salt with dried shrimp
Even if you die, you will still wake up and eat.

LE HONG QUAN

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