Night squid fishing in Cua Lo

(Baonghean) -After enjoying the waves and a great seafood meal, Huong said: "If only there was a campfire on the beach!...". Huong works at VTC, and now she and her colleagues are on a business trip from Hanoi to Nghe An, stopping by to swim at Cua Lo beach...

Sparkling image of Cua Lo at night. Photo: Internet

I went to meet the security and lifeguard at the beach in Thu Thuy ward. At first, he waved his hand and said no, no, it was unsanitary! No one had ever lit a campfire on the beach before! I begged that the beach was deserted at the beginning of the season, and besides, the visitors were potential customers! I promise, I promise to clean it up... Finally, the lifeguard nodded.

Making a campfire requires firewood. We had to ask our friends from the 2nd Coast Guard of Cua Hoi to buy some pine wood on a three-wheeled cart. We gathered around the fire. The guitars were playing and the atmosphere gradually became more exciting when a few young people started dancing and singing. Tourists on the beach gradually joined us. The fire flickered wildly on the sand, swaying in the night sea breeze and the waves at the shore… Why not go squid fishing? Someone shouted! And Huong grabbed my hand again, saying let’s plan a night squid fishing trip!

Oh, I have never gone squid fishing at night, although I go to Cua Lo beach at least five or seven times a year. But I heard that night squid fishing is a pleasure, and the “peak” is when you catch it, you will personally grill that wonderful gift of the sea on a blowtorch, then nibble it, daydreaming about the sailors Ximbat or Robinson… So let’s go! The edge of the wave is already waiting for the basket boats, when you call out, the boat owners will come right away. How much is a trip? At the beginning of the season, it is cheap at 50 thousand…

Prepare to board the boat to go out to sea.

Fishing boats usually have 2 to 3 people.

For safety, each basket only has 3 people. The fisherman is about 50 years old, with bulging muscles that shine through his thin brown shirt. While preparing his fishing rods and a bag filled with unknown things, the fisherman hooks a blowtorch (a kind of gas lamp) to the basket pole, drops the oars and says: Everyone, put on your life jackets, the sea is calm today, let’s go a little further! The sound of oars swaying loudly. The basket stretches out into the waves. The cool, seductive wind. The light from the sandbank gradually recedes, around the campfire, there are still groups of tourists singing and playing music, a few people waving to the “unwilling sailors” who are adventuring at night. In addition to Huong, there is another tourist who has just joined the group and asked to go with me. He is a teacher from Thai Binh who comes to swim at Cua Lo beach. I said I wanted to eat a meal of “jumping” squid, but I heard that you have to go fishing and grill it right on the sea to be “authentic”! I have to correct the teacher that “blinking” squid is not “jumping”. It is squid that has just been caught at night, is still fresh, its body reflects light and flashes, the local people of Cua Lo say “blinking” in their dialect, which sounds wrongly like “jumping”. Catching and enjoying “blinking” squid in Cua Lo is partly because of that, the most interesting in Vietnam! Hearing me say that, Huong also kept saying “oh, ah” that up until now she also thought that it was fresh squid that jumped up, that’s why it was called that!...

- How far from shore? “About a kilometer!”. The fisherman answered and decided to “drop anchor”, actually letting go of the oars to let the boat drift with the waves. At this time the wind was a little stronger, every now and then the boat would rise, tiny drops of water splashing coolly on my face. The fisherman reassured me: “Don’t worry, the wind will still be safe”. I stood up and looked around. The night sea was dark blue. Many squid fishing boats had “dropped anchor”. To the shore was the “coast” of Cua Lo, brightly lit like a giant warship; to the offshore were fishing boats with hundreds of horsepower of fishermen and boats waiting to “pick up” goods at Cua Lo Port, anchored, stretching across from Ngu Island, looking like a mysterious floating city. The army of squid fishing adventure boats like us numbered hundreds, each boat had a torch, flashing like stars in the middle of a galaxy, the feeling was great. Huong stood up and called out, our “fleet” of 4 baskets had gathered in full formation. Hope you catch a lot of squid! Remember to save some to grill at the campfire! The night sea was filled with the excitement of “conquering” the ocean!

The spoils of a fishing trip.

The fisherman busily refilled the gas to light the blowtorch. The flame flared up and then subsided in the vacuum, covering the side of the basket with a white halo. We dropped our lines, the bait was just plastic beams, nylon imitation shrimps sparkling in many colors. Under the sea water, there were tiny parasitic creatures, sparkling with silver scales. Occasionally, a small fish would wag its tail and play with the light. The teacher lowered his fishing rod to chase it away, it stopped and then darted away, its scales flashing under the sea water like a meteor. Oh, a squid! Huong grabbed my hand and let out a soft, suppressed cry of excitement. At that moment, there was a wonderful thing about the ocean. The transparent squid spread out its transparent dress and danced softly, swaying under the sea surface. The basket boat just drifted along the gentle waves. We let Huong drag the line after the squid. The fisherman said: “Don’t swing your net to catch it, or you might fall. If it eats, when you feel the hook is heavy, lift it straight up!”

Huong suddenly burst into joy when the fishing line was taut and pulled up a big squid the size of half a hand. The fisherman skillfully used the net to catch the squid just in time to release the fishing rod and then dropped it on the floor of the basket. The fresh squid was shining with thousands of glitters. The three of us let go of the fishing rod, eagerly watching the squid slowly turning opaque white, gradually forming a brown film. The fisherman flashed a generous smile and leisurely lifted the squid, gently placing it over the lid of the blowtorch. The squid gently rose and gradually dried under the heat from the blowtorch. A gentle, salty aroma of the sea wafted up. Unconsciously, we all sniffed. The fisherman said: “Grill until the outer layer is just cooked! The squid is sweet. The squid was just caught in the sea, you can eat it raw right away, it is very healthy!” Then the fisherman reached into his bag and pulled out a small jar: “My homemade wine. Let me “have a little” to thank the gift of the sea!” Ah, is this the romance of coastal people or the custom of fishermen towards the sea? Let’s just enjoy it first!

How to say it? First of all, there was a sweet, indescribable but seemingly very strong aroma that made my sense of smell well up. Then my taste buds felt something real on the tip of my tongue, which had previously been stretched out in anticipation. And, I couldn’t resist anymore! My teeth clicked and immediately the fatty, rich, sweet, bitter, aromatic… of all the delicacies in the world and the saltiness of the great ocean took over and dominated all my senses. Carefully enjoying each strand of squid grilled with a blowtorch, tilting my head back to take a small sip of country wine, making a hearty “ha” sound in the middle of the vast ocean was truly a wonderful feeling! Looking at us as if we were immersed in the joy of enjoying the squid we caught, the fisherman said: “When we catch a lot, you guys grill it yourselves, one per person, bite the squid in half, chew to your heart’s content, it’s so delicious it’s indescribable!”. Yes, that’s right, that’s right! We eagerly let go of the line again…

Every time the boat followed the waves a little bit towards the shore, the fishermen would quickly row out to the middle of the “galaxy”. In other boats, people would occasionally burst into joy when they caught squid. Our “fleet” still held tight formation. It turned out that Huong was much better at fishing than me and the teacher, when out of more than twenty squid, half of them were Huong’s. About an hour. After nibbling and then almost swallowing each of the “flashing” squid grilled with a “blowing” torch, we agreed to bring the rest back to the campfire to grill. Huong used a loudspeaker to call the team together, people responded and loudly “reported” their achievements, it was easy for some boats to catch a few kilos of squid.

The wind was colder. The sound of laughter stirred the sea. The strong taste of country wine had soaked in. Extremely excited. After the feelings of excitement, joy and even a little fear, the Simbats and Robinsons rowed their boats back to the mainland and now dared to "show off" their dignity and ask the fishermen who were rowing. The fishermen who steered our "battleship" - a father and son family - each took a basket to the beach to register to serve customers who were fishing for "flicking" squid during the tourist season. During the tourist season, there were nights when there were many customers, each person went on three or four trips, each trip costing more than 100,000 VND, some customers gave them extra, the income was quite good. In this profession, there were also regular customers, many of whom were picky, bringing alcohol lamps, alcohol, herbs and spices, and when they were bored with grilled squid, they steamed it right on the basket. Eating like that, was truly knowing how to eat delicious food.

As for the squid caught alive in seawater, brought back to restaurants, and elaborately processed into delicious dishes from many regions while still fresh, it is very fast, but it is difficult to be so delicious that it is "dizzying" to enjoy it right after being caught! The fisherman also affirmed that, in the South and the North, there is no place where the squid caught at night is as delicious as in Cua Lo. That is what the tourists who come to fish for "flashing" squid all say. Having been doing this job for nearly ten years, the fisherman has heard many stories from the "people" who fish for squid at night, and is probably not joking. I also read somewhere that "in Cua Lo, Nghe An province, with the advantage of salinity, the sea extending deep into the mainland, and few big waves, Cua Lo beach has become a suitable place for squid to crawl close to the shore to live". So, catching and enjoying the unique dish of "flashing" squid is not only in Cua Lo, but also in Cua Lo!

Satisfied as if they had just finished a real sea trip, everyone was excitedly commenting and showing off their achievements in catching “flashing” squid. Everyone was bustling to start grilling squid on the campfire with the determination to “eat up” this wonderful gift of Cua Lo beach. The teacher from Thai Binh held my hand tightly, saying that this was a Cua Lo memory he would never forget and that he would see me again in the next swimming seasons! Huong looked absent-mindedly at the campfire, then said very seriously: “During the days here, I will definitely enjoy all the dishes made from fresh squid!”. Yes, I believe that you and your colleagues, as well as tourists who come to swim here, will enjoy and forever remember the dishes made from the unique “flashing” squid specialty of my hometown Cua Lo beach, which has entered the international culinary tourism handbook!

Sam Temple