Aspiration to reach far from culinary "resources" - Part 2
With the natural advantages, Cua Lo seafood is famous for being fresh, delicious and nutritious. If this advantage is fully exploited, Cua Lo will conquer even the most demanding tourists.
Lesson 2:
Fresh journey from sea to table
With the natural advantages, Cua Lo seafood is famous for being fresh, delicious and nutritious. If this advantage is fully exploited, Cua Lo will conquer even the most demanding tourists.
"Ecosystem" of flashing ink
“Flashing squid” is considered a specialty that creates the “brand” of Cua Lo. From a marketing perspective, Cua Lo can not only sell fresh squid to tourists but also sell the story and journey of this specialty.
Flashing squid can be understood as squid that has just been caught, still alive with a transparent body and flashing, sparkling spots on the skin. Normally, to ensure the freshest, most flavorful squid, Cua Lo fishermen often catch them in the sea near the shore, from 4 to 8 pm. That is also the reason why people often sell flashing squid at night, or on the beach, as soon as the boat docks. This long-standing fishing habit has become an interesting "side story" of this famous dish.
As a tourist from Hanoi, at the end of June, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang and her husband and two children had a memorable experience with "flash squid". "On the first day in Cua Lo, due to lack of experience, I bought squid that was not fresh at the seafood market. The next day, I was determined to experience flash squid fishing at sea, buying an electric pot from the store to steam the squid I brought back from the boat. My children got to experience the work of fishermen, witness the flashing on the squid's body, enjoy the chewy and crispy steamed squid and the sweet and fragrant grilled squid with betel leaves... The journey to enjoy the standard flash squid made my trip even more special" - Ms. Trang said. Also from her own story, Ms. Trang believes that if the locality professionalizes the process and organizes ticket sales for the experience of squid fishing - processing - enjoying, many tourists will definitely support it.
Originating from the people's need to enjoy specialties, the "flash squid" market gradually took shape on the road to Lan Chau island, in Nghi Thuy ward, always bustling and bustling from when the street lights up until midnight. Since 2023, in order for tourists to have the best experience when going to the "flash squid market", Cua Lo town has planned and arranged concentrated flash squid selling points under the management of functional forces to ensure environmental sanitation and security and order. Accordingly, the People's Committee of the town has assigned Thu Thuy ward to organize general cleaning, arrange lighting, assign security forces to manage activities according to prescribed times, take measures to handle and collect wastewater, and ensure environmental sanitation after the end of daily selling hours. This avoids the situation of street vendors and soliciting on the streets causing disorder and disturbing the urban beauty.
As one of two units that meet all strict requirements on process, quality, and food hygiene and safety, Ms. Hoang Thi Hien's family (Thu Thuy ward) is licensed by the locality to process squid to serve tourists right at the wharf. Sharing about her hometown's specialty, Ms. Hien said: "The squid is caught and washed in clean water, then steamed with lemongrass or grilled over charcoal, without needing to marinate or season with any other spices. When eaten, the rich sweetness of the chewy squid combined with the dipping sauce and betel leaves will enhance each other. Recently, to diversify the experience, restaurants have also prepared new dishes from flash squid such as salad, stir-fry, fried... But the most complete flavor is definitely steamed and grilled."
From a “key dish” of flash squid, tourists can have more experiences with a variety of choices, people can have more stable income and maintain their fishing profession, the locality has more tourist attractions. If the “ecosystem” surrounding this specialty dish is professionally built, the benefits will be not small.
Long-term wish
Not only squid, Cua Lo sea has many choices of seafood that make tourists satisfied. Struggling to bring the freshness from the sea to the dining table, many people have been trying to upgrade their services and products.
Having traveled to many coastal areas and experienced many seafood products, Mr. Bui Van Duc - Head of the Department of Food Processing Technology, Nghe An College of Tourism and Commerce shared: “With the characteristics of salty sea areas, complex geology, and big waves, seafood caught in the Central coastal areas in general and Nghe An in particular always has a rich flavor, firmer and thicker meat, from squid to shrimp, crab, fish... The seafood resources are good, but if we do not know how to take advantage of, exploit and promote them, it will not make a difference. At this time, the decisive role belongs to the service providers and the team of chefs”.
Sharing the same viewpoint, in order to bring customers the best products, Ms. Tran Thi Tan - owner of a famous restaurant in Cua Lo town, has been extremely strict in selecting input materials as well as selecting chefs. “We sign long-term contracts with local boats to have fresh seafood sources, invest in facilities with seafood jacuzzis to maintain freshness. The advantage of signing long-term contracts is that we can return and refuse to accept poor quality products. To ensure the most delicious dishes, the restaurant needs to have a policy to attract good chefs with a worthy treatment. The above factors combined with a good heart for the job have helped the restaurant survive and develop sustainably over the past 30 years. In the recent "Good Chef - Honoring Cua Lo Cuisine" contest, Ms. Tan's restaurant convincingly won the First Prize.
Not only dishes prepared directly on the dining table in restaurants, Cua Lo seafood is recognized. With passion, creativity, daring to think and dare to do, many coastal urban residents are struggling with the desire to improve, promote and develop local products. From here, OCOP products, processing factories with standard processing processes were born. In just 3 years, Cua Lo town has had more than 20 products recognized as OCOP products, of which 3 products are recognized as 4-star OCOP and 17 3-star OCOP products. Besides familiar products such as fish sauce, shrimp paste, shrimp paste, many new products such as grilled mackerel, mackerel rolls, mackerel floss, squid rolls, braised meat with shrimp paste... are also on the shelves. Besides traditional processing methods, many new models are also deployed.
“Fish sauce production is a traditional profession of Cua Lo people and I always cherish the desire to improve this product, make it better and more branded. From that desire, I decided to invest in a factory with raw materials from Cua Lo anchovies. I hope that the outstanding advantages in quality, nutrition and hygiene of the final product will conquer customers across the country” - Mr. Le Tuan Quynh, owner of Hai Hoa fish sauce factory, Cua Lo town shared.
During a conversation at a seafood market, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tai - owner of Tam Tai Seafood brand once confided: “We, Cua Lo people, are very proud of the quality of our seafood and confidently affirm that Cua Lo seafood can be at the top of the country in terms of freshness. With the current number of customers who are traders and local people, I do not need to work hard to build an OCOP brand to still have an ideal source of income. However, I want my hometown products to reach more people, so I choose a longer path, although it is more difficult.”
Ms. Tai’s wish has been realized. No longer a kiosk with a simple processing procedure at the seafood market of the past, her grilled mackerel and mackerel floss are displayed in a spacious display room, produced in a closed system in a modern factory, and brought to all regions of the country… On the dining table, the fresh taste of Cua Lo seafood is preserved in the most complete way.
