The beginning of the year brings a surge in seafood activity.

(Baonghean.vn) -Although the market opened on the second day of Tet to promptly serve the needs of the people, the Cua Lo seafood market only became bustling again on the 5th or 6th day of Tet…

The seafood market at the beginning of the year has a wide variety of goods.

After the Lunar New Year celebrations with traditional dishes like banh chung (sticky rice cake), beef, and pork, many families want to switch to seafood. In addition, many people want to buy seafood specialties like mackerel and shrimp to give as gifts to their children and grandchildren living far away. Understanding this sentiment, in addition to fresh vegetables, traders at Cua Lo market often go to the fishing ports to meet the boats returning from their first fishing trip of the year to buy the freshest seafood that has just been caught and brought ashore. Therefore, the seafood at the beginning of the year is always fresher and tastier than usual.

Interestingly, despite the new year, prices of goods haven't fluctuated much, and are even 10-20% lower than before Tet (Lunar New Year). Mackerel is priced at 170,000 VND/kg (10,000 VND cheaper than before Tet), selected mackerel at 220,000 VND/kg, fresh squid at 220-250,000 VND/kg, clams at 15-20,000 VND/kg. Fresh sea shrimp remains scarce and expensive, costing 500-600,000 VND/kg, and even then it's hard to find because at the beginning of the new year, many fishing boats are only going out to sea on auspicious days rather than fishing far offshore…

Visitors to the seafood market at the beginning of the year include not only locals but also people from Vinh, surrounding areas, and some domestic and international tourists who want to enjoy the winter seascape.

The most popular and best-selling dish at the seafood market during the first days of the new year is grilled herring (fresh grilled sardines). For about 30,000 VND, customers can buy a batch of about 30 or 40 sardines to grill over glowing charcoal in the market, then take them home, heat them in the microwave, and dip them in salt, pepper, lime, chili, and accompanying herbs. However, if customers are not familiar with the process, they may easily buy flat-headed sardines, which are bony and not as flavorful as pointed-headed sardines. Ms. Long, a professional fish griller at the seafood market, said that during the first days of the new year, she's often overwhelmed with grilling sardines and mackerel for customers. The price per grilling session is around 10,000-20,000 VND.

Many customers choose mackerel as a New Year's gift.

Grilled herring, a dish favored by many locals.

Dried goods are in high demand.

Mackerel, in particular, is mainly purchased as a gift. Those buying in large quantities often choose to buy whole, fresh fish, then cut it into pieces, grill it, freeze it, and ship it by plane as a gift. Ms. Thu, a customer at the market, said that this morning she just bought a whole, fresh mackerel weighing about 8 kilograms for 1.2 million VND for her family to take to Ho Chi Minh City as a gift. Buying a whole fish is cheaper, and the sliced ​​pieces are also more satisfactory.

In addition, dried seafood items such as dried shrimp, dried squid, dried yellowtail fish, dried anchovies, etc., are also quite popular after Tet because they are relatively easy to transport over long distances and do not require any preservation concerns.

The seafood market in the early days of the new year only operates in the mornings and is usually crowded from around 9 am to 11 am. Although the time is short, visiting the market in the early days of the year not only allows you to buy fresh seafood and witness the typical daily life of fishermen in the riverine region, but also to experience the distinctive salty taste of the sea.

Ly-Ha