Unique profession of digging for 'miracle medicine' under mangrove rivers in Nghe An

As a coastal district, Quynh Luu has many areas.mangrove forestssurrounded by rivers. When the tide is low, the roots of the mangrove trees and the riverbeds are exposed, and the riverbeds are dry. This is the right time for the people of An Hoa commune to dig.ginseng(likened to a rare panacea in Vietnam).

Present at the mangrove river in Quynh Tho commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (An Hoa commune) is trying her best to dig for the earthworms hidden deep under the mud. She holds a hoe in her hand, every few digs into the mud, she picks up each earthworm and puts them into a plastic can.

People in An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district hunt for ginseng in the mangrove forest. Photo: Viet Hung

Ms. Hoa said: "A good day of digging can yield about 2-3 kg of ginseng. Traders buy all the ginseng they can find. Ginseng has long been considered amiracle drugSo the selling price is quite high, each day digging ginseng can earn from 400,000 - 500,000 VND".

To dig for ground ginseng, Ms. Ho Thi Tu shared: “Ground ginseng lives hidden under the mud like eels, when the water in the river dries up, the hiding holes of ground ginseng will be revealed. Only experienced people can discover where the hiding places of ground ginseng are, not everyone can do this job. For us, who specialize in digging ground ginseng, with experience, when we look at the mud surface, there are a few small holes, if we look closely, we will see a small spout sticking out, then we will use a hoe to dig and catch it.”

Ground ginseng lives under the mud, people use hoes to dig and catch it, each day they dig about 2 - 3 kg of ground ginseng. Photo: Viet Hung

After more than 4 hours of digging for ginseng, Ms. Hoa and Ms. Tu's group each hunted more than 2 kg of ginseng. Looking closely, the ginseng is the size of a little finger, has a cylindrical body, and is covered in mud so it has a light pinkish brown color. Currently, ginseng is sold for 200,000 VND/kg.

According to people who specialize in digging for ground ginseng, the time to find and catch ground ginseng is from October - lasting until February of the following lunar year, however ground ginseng still develops the most in December of the lunar year. Therefore, at this time, dozens of people in An Hoa commune not only go to find and catch ground ginseng in the district but also to Dien Chau district, Hoang Mai town and some other coastal provinces.

Many people consider ginseng a "miracle drug". Photo: Viet Hung

After digging, the ground ginseng is processed immediately because if left for too long, the ground ginseng will die and its quality will decrease. After being cleaned, the ground ginseng is put into lime water. After a few hours, the outer shell of the ground ginseng will swell, at this point, just peel off the shell to get silver-brown pieces of ground ginseng. Use a chopstick to insert into the closed end of the ground ginseng through the spout to turn it inside out, remove the dirt and sand insides and then wash it. For more effort, continue to soak the cleaned ground ginseng in lime water to peel off the silver shell. After preliminary processing, the "finished product" is sold fresh to restaurants.

According to traditional medicine documents, ground ginseng has a salty taste and cold properties, has the effect of nourishing the yin and cooling the lungs, improving the function of the spleen and stomach, and is often used to treat diseases such as heat in the deep layers inside or fever in the afternoon, night sweats, coughing up a lot of phlegm due to lung deficiency; and frequent urination at night.

According to folklore, ground ginseng has the effect of nourishing the kidneys, benefiting the essence, treating weak physiology and impotence. Fresh ground ginseng is processed into fried, stir-fried, grilled dishes or cooked into porridge for sick people to improve their health. Currently, ground ginseng is an expensive specialty in restaurants./.