Record: Braised fish pot costs 12 million VND

Just 30 minutes after announcing that he had 6 sardine fish (or sardine fish) weighing 8kg each on his personal Facebook page, Mr. Nguyen Le Van, owner of a seafood store on Nguyen Trai (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) had to announce that the stock was out.

Mr. Van shared that the most expensive river fish are the parrot fish, the catfish, the catfish, etc., but the supply is not too scarce. Customers who want to eat them only need to order a few days or a week in advance. But with the squirrel fish, although it is not classified as a river "monster", not everyone with money can buy it.

According to Mr. Van, the fish usually lives in large rivers in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and in Vietnam, fishermen often catch them in rivers such as Vam Co, Dong Nai, and Cuu Long. This fish species eats natural foods such as crabs, snails, and phytoplankton.

The highlight of the wrasse is its large scales, with 5-6 stripes running from head to body. The fish meat is white, delicious and nutritious, comparable to the parrot fish and giant barb. Many people also call this fish a king's fish because of its rarity.

Large wrasse can grow up to 1.5m long and weigh up to 60kg each. However, in Vietnam, wrasse are extremely rare, almost extinct due to indiscriminate exploitation. To buy wrasse weighing 5-10kg each, customers often have to order in advance and accept a rather expensive price; and those weighing 20-60kg are caught in extremely small numbers.

Like Mr. Van’s seafood store, he accepts orders for all kinds of river fish. But for the squirrel fish, even if the customer offers a high price, he always refuses. Because, the amount of squirrel fish he buys in a year is only a few dozen.

“Last time, I was lucky to buy a batch of 6 fish. However, after only 30 minutes of selling, all the customers bought them. Many people were slow to come and regretted it, texting me to order this fish for Tet, but I only dared to accept orders from a few regular customers who regularly buy my fish,” said Mr. Van. The price of the fish is currently up to 1.5 million VND/kg, an 8kg fish costs up to 12 million VND, but the rich still rush to buy it, especially during Tet.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Van Thuong, owner of a seafood store in Thu Duc District (HCMC) also said that the river fish is one of the most sought-after fish. However, buying a river fish is not an easy task.

“Ho Chi Minh City is not far from the West, I know all the big and small fishing sources in the West, but every month I can only catch a few squirrel fish weighing 5-10 kg each,” said Mr. Thuong.

According to Mr. Thuong, although their price is up to nearly 1-1.5 million VND/kg depending on the weight, they are all fresh, chilled fish, not live, swimming fish. As for the giant fish weighing up to several dozen kilograms, most of them are caught from rivers in Cambodia.

“This type of fish is now extremely rare. If you want to eat frozen fish, you have to order 2-3 months in advance, let alone fresh fish.” Mr. Thuong shared that the current list of customers ordering fish for Tet is up to nearly 20 people, while the amount of fish found from sources is not necessarily enough, so he prioritizes paying in turn, customers who order first will receive the goods first.

Admitting this, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhat Huong in Ton That Tung (Dong Da, Hanoi) shared that this year she was lucky to buy 2 squirrel fish to eat. This time, she is looking for a squirrel fish weighing about 7-10 kg to cut the middle pieces to cook in a pot of fish and then divide it into gifts for each side of the grandparents to eat during Tet to avoid getting bored. As for the head and tail, she will steam them for a meal on New Year's Eve. She said that the meat of the squirrel fish is firm, extremely delicious and sweet, not inferior to giant catfish and parrot fish.