Sea Squid

(Baonghean) -That man is Tran Viet Thuat, (60 years old), originally from Thach Ha district (Ha Tinh). I call him uncle, because he married my aunt. My uncle's hometown has no sea, lives on agriculture, grows up from potatoes and cassava. Following the call of love, my uncle followed my aunt to the coastal land of Nghe An, living happily with a boat and a net until now...

Every day, from early morning, my uncle would get on the boat to go fishing (fishing during the day or overnight). Today, his boat returned earlier than expected, at 8 pm the boat docked. Fish and squid were already waiting for us from the "traders" around the area. My uncle saved a bowl of squid to treat us. He made steamed squid with lolot leaves. The sea squid, he left the black ink bag intact, it was so sweet, when we bit into the squid, everyone's mouth turned black.

Due to his advanced age, for nearly 5 years now, my uncle has been focusing on the profession of raking, but his squid catching techniques are still famous throughout the region. Many young fishermen come to him to learn his squid catching experience. My uncle said that the squid season usually lasts from May to October, when fishermen catch the most squid, and eating fresh squid during these months is also the most delicious.

Mr. Thuat makes grilled squid.

To catch squid, fishermen often use two methods: casting nets and fishing lines. In the past, when there were no batteries, my uncle used a kerosene lamp hung on a bamboo pole over 2 meters high, as big as an adult's wrist, to lure the squid back. Squid catching was mainly done on moonless nights. Nowadays, with batteries, people use light bulbs, catching more squid than using kerosene lamps in the old days. My uncle bragged that just at the beginning of the month, the night sky was as dark as ink, with only two battery lamps, the squids came back in schools, the net was full of squid.

When fishing for squid with a hook, you must choose a fishing rod made of flexible, sturdy bamboo with moderate thickness. The squid fishing line must be monofilament, rolled up on the fishing reel, when casting far away, loosen the line, when casting near, roll up the line, therefore, every fisherman has a fishing rod attached to the fishing reel. There are two types of squid bait, real bait and fake bait. Real bait is a small fish, shrimp caught on the hook to attract squid; fake bait is a colorful cloth. In the past, when people were poor, they mainly used fake bait, now the life of fishing villages is prosperous, mainly using shrimp and fish as bait.

Every time I go back to my hometown, I get to enjoy the fresh, sweet batches of squid that my uncle brings back from the sea. My uncle said that tourists come here not only to enjoy the famous Nghe An specialty, the best in the country, but also to buy them as gifts. Those who buy at least a few kilos of fresh squid and a kilo of dried squid.

My uncle, like the fishermen of Quynh district, on the 15th and 1st of the lunar month, always prepares the freshest squid to make dishes such as fried squid, steamed squid, stir-fried squid, grilled squid... and places them on the ancestral altar. In particular, in my hometown, every family eats squid at the beginning of the new year, there is no concept of taboo like some places believe that "eating squid at the beginning of the month is not lucky". Who knows if it is unlucky, in my hometown, eating squid at the beginning of the year always brings luck, goodness, the love of the village and the people at sea is always warm.

Every time my uncle came back from the sea, my aunt would sit down and sort each type of squid. She would sell the big ones, not the small ones. They would wash them in seawater, dry them until they were dry, and then sell them. My hometown calls them dried sim squid. Some of them she grilled and sold to customers to eat during the day or to customers to store in the refrigerator to eat gradually. The dried sim squid is delicious on rainy days. After the squid has been washed in warm boiling water, sauteed in oil, onions, add the squid, add a little fish sauce, seasoning powder, sugar, and eat with rice without getting bored.

I always remember the fishing port of Son Hai, my hometown, remember the shiny holds of boats with fresh squid arriving at the dock. In just a moment, those full holds of squid were bought out. Some families fanned the stove and grilled squid right on the dock. I was stunned watching the women and mothers quickly choose the squid to display on the grill, each one fresh and green, under the red hot charcoal stove, grills of grilled squid were stacked on top of each other. Each hand fanned the squid, the aroma of the sea squid followed the smoke into every corner, awakening the sense of smell and taste of anyone passing by. The aroma of the squid just cooked, the strong scent of the squid water flowing out under the charcoal with the sizzling sound, the warmth of the charcoal stove glowing when the night just fell in the cold autumn weather created an unforgettable feeling for all those who had ever enjoyed it.

My uncle said that when the fishing port is bustling, with people calling each other and the smell of fish, shrimp and especially the aroma of grilled squid, that is when the da cao comes back. My uncle and his wife mainly make dried squid and grilled squid. Dried squid is over 300,000 VND per kilo, grilled squid is 200,000 VND/ kilo, there is nothing to sell. The fishing port in my hometown is getting more and more crowded, everyone is bustling with people carrying baskets, carrying baskets, carrying poles to choose squid. My uncle said that mainly people from the district town and Vinh come to buy and import to Hanoi and Saigon.

Squid bought in the countryside, so the price is cheap. My friend bought two hundred thousand dong for grilled squid, very surprised because it was almost double the price she bought in Vinh. That day, my uncle grilled the squid, joking, with a strong coastal accent: "So you girls are at a disadvantage when you marry a fisherman, but you can eat squid all year round." In those joking words, there was faith, desire and hope.

Compared to the effort of a fisherman who spends a day and night drifting at sea after a dredging trip with an income of several hundred thousand dong/day/3 workers, it is not much. But for them, having a stable job, calm seas and calm skies is happiness, my uncle said. In my hometown, women are very hard-working, they bring squid to Vinh to sell to earn a few kilos of rice, and bring fresh specialties to the city people. My aunt used to wake up early in the morning, take a bus to Vinh to sell squid, by 9 o'clock it was sold out, then go to the wharf to catch a bus home. Since my aunt's children have stable jobs, she sells squid at the wharf, no longer hastily traveling far like usual. In my hometown, there is a sister Thu Thuan who has been associated with sea squid for more than 30 years. People often call her "Thuan muc". Her squid is always fresh and green, stir-fried without any water, chewy and sweet, so there are always many people coming to buy.

I remember when I was young, my sisters and I followed my grandmother to dry squid, we kept cutting off each squid tentacle and secretly grilled it to eat together. One day, all of us were digging for squid tentacles in the ashes, shining with joy, exclaiming "oh, the squid tentacles are cooked, so delicious". Seeing my grandmother coming in, we quickly tucked the tentacles into the hem of her shirt, she smiled, went to the end of the alley to pound betel. During dinner that evening, my grandmother joked "there is the smell of grilled squid tentacles somewhere", then she turned up the light and went into the kitchen. My sisters and I smelled the fragrant smell of grilled squid, my grandmother shouted from the kitchen: "Do you smell anything?". "The smell of grilled squid, grandma". "You know, you can hide anything you eat, but you can't hide grilled squid! This afternoon, when you grilled squid, grandma in the yard knew". For dinner that evening, my grandmother and I had an additional dish of grilled squid with chili sauce. Called chili sauce, it's actually just a few spoons of fried white salt, pounded with ripe chili, and squeezed with a piece of lemon, called chili sauce.

From those days until now, squid has always been a “favorite” dish of my sisters and I. Now, the hometown squid is available everywhere, both domestically and internationally. Every child far from home when returning to the sea will definitely buy squid as a gift.

Hotels and restaurants, big and small, all have squid dishes such as: dried squid, fresh squid fried with fish sauce, stir-fried squid, steamed squid... to please customers. Nibbling on a piece of dried squid in a rainy afternoon or listening to the crispy, chewy, sweet taste of fried squid, just hearing about it makes you crave it, makes you miss home...

Article and photos: Thu Huong