Braised fish in clay pot

(Baonghean)- In a conversation with Mr. Tran Ba ​​Luan, the owner of the famous fish stew kiln in Vu Dai village (Dai Hoang village - Hoa Hau commune, Ly Nhan district, Nam Ha province), he shared: "Nghe An soil is smooth, rich, the product is beautiful, can withstand the heat of the hot fire. If you knock on the pot with your hand and hear a clanging sound, it means the pot can withstand the heat of this fish stew profession!". He said: One day, with a backpack on his shoulder, he got on the train to Cau Giat station - Hanoi, pushing his companion a bicycle, two baskets full of clay pots. Once on the train, the pot driver was so excited that he took out a bamboo stick the size of his finger and knocked on the pot, making a joyful sound, humming along to the song "I'm angry, but I love...". And from that chance, after the day my village re-established the traditional fish stew profession, I took the trouble to go all the way to Cau Giat station to find the Tru Son pot village (Do Luong) to place an order.

Making clay pots. Photo: Sy Minh

In the past, the pot drivers were farmers who had free time to go to the market and often bought two big bamboo baskets. Or if they had one, they bought a dilapidated bicycle to arrange goods at Bong market, Veo market. Then they formed associations, joined wandering guilds to distribute products throughout the North Central region. Some people even got on the train to travel all over the South and North with a long handcart, a small bag containing some dry food such as rice, salt, fish, and fish sauce. Wherever they went, they would put stones to cook and finish their meal by noon. Thinking back, I remember what was deeply imprinted in my memory! The old farmers, their bare red shoulders weighed down with the heavy load of clay pots, could not sell them all at the market, so they carried their loads to the villages to exchange for corn, rice with heartbreaking cries. Looking at them, I felt sorry for the pot sellers, their wet oak shirts and handkerchiefs stained with porridge because of the wind and rain.

In recent years, the economy has developed at the speed of industrialization, and metal and electrical goods serving meals are more diverse and convenient. Now, few people cook rice with wood stoves. Palm and paper fans are also covered with a layer of dust from time. If we do not know how to appreciate the old things, and do not change the "mechanism" to integrate slowly, they will surely be "terminated". However, the paper fan and pot making villages of Tru Son still live. Because of the dynamism of people who love their homeland, their fatherland, and their ancestors, such as Mr. Tran Ba ​​Luan and his son in Vu Dai village, and Mr. Nguyen Huu Tao in Tru Son (Do Luong). The two craft villages are coincidentally linked together by two traditional crafts but are completely different in style and characteristics of production.

After Tet, the whole Vu Dai village was red-hot with day and night braising batches of fish to release to domestic and foreign markets, such as Japan, Korea, China, countries with the same Eastern culinary culture. The product was "braised" for up to 24 hours, stewed like banh chung but had to be simmered to prevent the "juice" from overflowing, to meet export standards. Currently, Mr. Luan's son is studying in Hanoi, but is fascinated with his hometown's braised fish, fascinated with the traditional craft that is as famous as the name of his village, which became famous thanks to Mr. Nam Cao "accidentally" promoting the name of the village, through the famous short story "Chi Pheo", he set up a marketing website for his family's and neighbors' brands to elevate the brand. According to family experience, cooking anything in a pot, kettle, pan, or clay pot will make the rice delicious, the soup sweet, the fish and meat rich; and traditional medicine boiled in a clay pot will preserve the flavor and substance in the medicine. The two craft villages have found each other, connected by their livelihoods, and also preserved the beauty of the rural countryside.

Vu Dai village braised fish is exported thanks to Tru Son village's clay pots for packaging with beautiful designs, contributing to the brand "Vu Dai braised fish in clay pots". That is also the reputation of the most arduous and ups and downs clay pot profession in Nghe An. The clanging sound of the pot seems to permeate our minds, reminding us not to forget the old. Don't let the long-standing traditional values ​​that are not easily acquired in a day or two be lost.

Nguyen Viet Loi

(85 Dao Tan - Vinh)