Freshwater crabs 'compete' to get to the city.

(Baonghean.vn) - Freshwater crabs are a nutritious and refreshing dish in the summer, making them a popular choice for many housewives to include in their family's daily menus. This market demand has led to the development of crab catching and trading, providing a high income for many rural workers.

Taking advantage of her free time during the agricultural off-season, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong from Hamlet 9, Nam Cuong Commune (Nam Dan District) goes around buying freshwater crabs brought by people from surrounding communes to sell at Quang Trung Market in Vinh City.

Ms. Huong from Hamlet 9, Nam Cuong, Nam Dan, collects crabs to sell at Quang Trung Market in Vinh City.

Ms. Huong said: “Every afternoon, I go all over the communes of Nam Trung, Khanh Son, Nam Kim, Nam Tan, Nam Cuong, and sometimes even to communes in Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province, to buy freshwater crabs. Each household buys 1-2 kg, so together we get 20-30 kg to keep in the ponds. Early the next morning, I continue to buy crabs from people who catch them at night using flashlights. I spend the whole afternoon and early morning collecting crabs, sometimes getting 50-60 kg, other times 20-30 kg to sell at Quang Trung market. The freshwater crab trading business is hard work, but it earns me 250-350 thousand dong per day. This season, crabs are expensive and easy to sell, but they are also difficult to buy. In September and October, crabs are readily available and cheaper, but they are hard to sell.”

According to Ms. Huong, many people in Nam Dan currently work in the business of buying crabs and transporting them to northern provinces. In particular, in the five southern communes, there are 4-5 households specializing in buying crabs for export to Hanoi, making it difficult to buy crabs for retail sale at the market.

Freshwater crabs are a popular choice for many housewives when preparing family meals during the summer.

Freshwater crabs are rich in calcium and nutrients, and can be used to prepare many dishes such as crab hotpot, stir-fried crab with tamarind, and crispy fried crab. The crab meat can be crushed or ground to extract the juice, which is then used to make soup with various vegetables such as sweet potato leaves, jute leaves, spinach, leafy greens, zucchini, bamboo shoots, etc. It's delicious and has a cooling effect in the summer. Therefore, freshwater crabs are a popular choice for many housewives.

“Freshwater crabs are also affordable; 20,000 dong worth of crabs and 5,000 dong worth of vegetables are enough for a delicious bowl of soup for the whole family. I often buy crabs to cook soup with pickled eggplant; it's both tasty and refreshing. Crabs are rich in calcium, which is very good for health,” shared Ms. Dang Thi Yen from Doi Cung Ward, Vinh City.

While catching crabs is a familiar job throughout the rural areas of Nghe An province, especially in districts like Yen Thanh, Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau, and Nghi Loc, the job of collecting crabs and transporting them to markets also provides employment for many people. Because the crabs must be sold quickly while still alive, most traders have to stay up late and wake up early to collect them and take them to the market early to get a good price.

Many of these "guys" also sell freshwater crabs.

Freshwater crab soup served with pickled eggplant. (Image for illustration purposes only, from the Internet.)

Thanh Tam