The old poor family’s fish was countless, now it has changed its life into a rare and extremely expensive specialty, 200,000 VND/kg

Returning to Nghe, if you can once enjoy dishes from Lam river cobia, you will surely remember this delicious and rustic taste forever.

The scorpion fish is small in size, the largest is the size of a thumb. This species reproduces all year round, so the supply is always abundant.

Sardines are abundant in Lam river area

Mr. Hoang Khanh (in Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city, Nghe An) recounted that before, cobia fish was associated with meals of poor families. “When we were still poor, our brothers and sisters fished in the river to cook sour soup, or braised turmeric with rice, but we didn’t have money to buy other types of fish. At that time, there were a lot of cobia fish, just spread the net. There were a few batches of fish to share. This fish is small but has soft bones, fragrant meat, and eats very well,” said Khanh.

Mr. Khanh added, at that time, there were many people selling cobia fish at the market, but the price was very cheap. “If they catch a lot of them and don’t sell out of stock, people still bring home salt and fish sauce, even as food for pigs. Now, when hydroelectric power plants are built up, the Lam River is blocked, accumulating water, leading them to have to moving into the crevices to live, the source of cobia is scarcer”, Mr. Khanh shared.

The cod fish is small in size but has soft bones and fragrant meat, so it is very popular

From a poor family dish, now cobia “changes life” into a specialty loved by city people. On the online market or e-commerce platform, fresh bream is cleaned, packed in zip bags and sold for between 150,000-200,000 VND/kg. The seller introduced cobia fish with fragrant meat, soft bones, and fresh fish that is processed into many delicious dishes after being brought back.

According to the people of Nghe, the most delicious dish made from sardines is braised bream and braised bream. After catching, the bream is cleaned, washed and dried, then drained. After that, the fish is fried, then put in a pot and marinated with spices such as: crushed fresh turmeric, toothpicks, fish sauce, molasses, pepper and some other spices. After the fish is marinated for about 10 to 15 minutes, add water and then put it on the stove to simmer until all the water is gone.

Braised cod fish is a famous specialty, loved by city people

Braised cod fish with turmeric is only really delicious when cooked in an earthen pot with a charcoal stove. In the process of stocking the fish, do not use chopsticks to turn the fish around, because if you do, the fish will be crushed.

Currently, in Nghe An, the specialty of braised bream is the most sold in Anh Son district, many establishments in this mountainous district sell hundreds of pots of cobia every day in the market.

Selling a pot of braised arthropod on the online market, Ms. Hoang Duong (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) said that she is from Nghe An, so she knows that termites can buy delicious braised cobia. “At first, there were few people ordering at the apartment market, but then everyone tasted it and ordered it. In addition to selling at the apartment market, I also sold it on my personal page and wholesaled to some shops. On average, each week I get 20-30 pots of braised bream with the price of 180,000 VND/pot.

Braised cobia fish dish is only really delicious when cooked in an earthen pot with a charcoal stove

The time when cobia is scarce, the source of goods is not much, customers have to order a few days in advance to have the goods. The source of cobia is increasingly scarce, so we have to collect it from fishermen in water areas such as Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, we even have to go to Ha Tinh to buy it, clean it and store it. into pots and sold to all provinces and cities, “said Duong.