The old specialty fish was cheap, no one bought it, but now it’s changed into an expensive specialty, 700,000 VND/kg

The flood season in the West not only brings with it the alluvial flow to replenish the soil, but also carries the rich products that nature gives to the people here, including catfish.

Catfish are abundant in the lake area of ​​Cambodia and areas of the Tien and Hau rivers. Every year, during the flood season, catfish from the Ho Sea follow the large river water to Vietnam. Here, catfish take advantage of the opportunity to eat and lay eggs. Their children grow up in Vietnam to the point where the harvest will be caught and processed into many wonderful specialties.

Catfish are abundant in the western part of the river

Catfish belongs to the catfish family, a type of fish without scales, smooth skin, flat body, thin tail with a very brittle cartilage layer, two fish antennae on both sides of the mouth. There are 2 types of catfish, the very thin tail type is the leaf catfish; The type with a large belly is called a gourami. The belly is plump, yellow-green, and the meat is fatty and soft, so it is suitable for braised and fried dishes. Both types are small in size, especially the one that is as small as a finger, just like a flat leaf, with a clear body without fishy blood.

Ms. Nha An (in Tien Giang) said that catfish is a specialty fish in her hometown, with unique characteristics in terms of shape and taste, unmistakable. “The buffalo tongue fish does not have a distorted mouth; the catfish gourd has many stories of cleft lip” is a familiar song of the people of the Southwest region about this fish. change the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, and people liken catfish to be a talkative species with a cleft lip”.

Perhaps because the shape of the mouth is too changed, the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, but people liken the catfish to be a talkative species, with a cleft lip.

According to Ms. An, in the past, during the flood season, people in her hometown would bring fishing nets to catch catfish to process dishes. “At that time, there were countless catfish and spirit fish. In the season, when you bring the racket out for a while, you can still have a full load. Dishes from catfish were present on the people’s rustic rice tray at that time. Pangasius gourd braised If you catch a lot but can’t eat all of it, bring salt and fish sauce, or feed it to livestock. This fish can also be eaten. sold in the market but the price is very cheap.

Now the amount of catfish in the wild is not as abundant as before. Moreover, many people catch fish, so the number of catfish is also limited. Now that I’m far away from home, sometimes I remember the pot of catfish and braised spirit fish of my grandmother and mother. At that time, there were not many delicious things like now, having a pot of braised fish is very warm,” An said.

Catfish is now present in many restaurants and eateries, known by many tourists

From the wild fish, in recent years, catfish “came to life” into a famous specialty that is hunted by the city people, is present in famous restaurants and eateries and is very popular with tourists every time they come. with the West. According to the survey, on online markets and specialty fish stores, fresh catfish costs 200,000-300,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, dry catfish and catfish in a sunny day can be up to 700,000 VND/kg and must be ordered in advance.

One sun catfish costs up to 700,000 VND/kg

Dried catfish packed in bags and shipped to customers in all provinces

Around September to March next year is the most abundant time of catfish. People catch fresh catfish and then clean it, then soak it in a little salt and dry it in the hot sun for 2 hours, then pack it and transport it to customers. The process of processing and drying catfish depends on a hot sunny day and must be carefully shielded to avoid insect penetration.

Crispy fried catfish is the most attractive, both delicious and fatty, not fishy, ​​easy to stimulate the taste buds. Currently, at restaurants and eateries in the Western provinces, delicious fried fish is available to serve visitors. At Tet, people everywhere order dried catfish to celebrate Tet and entertain guests from near and far.