Delicious Giang River eel dish
(Baonghean.vn) - For a long time, mud eels have been considered a specialty dish, fresh, delicious, and nutritious. To catch mud eels, people use many different methods such as nets, seines, and fishing rods. In Cao Veu village, Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district, people have come up with a method that is both strange and familiar: using traps to lure them in.
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| After a night of setting traps, the locals go to collect them the next morning. |
Mr. Vi Van Sao, a resident of Cao Veu 3 village, Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district, has been involved in the profession of setting traps to catch eels on the Giang River for many years. He said: catching eels is quite easy this season because it is their breeding season and they are very voracious eaters. Each night, Mr. Sao can catch 2-3 kg of eels.
To catch eels, the trap must be of good quality, made from old bamboo, with small, round, polished slats, and the spacing between the slats should not be too wide; earthworms can also be used as bait to catch eels.
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| The bamboo traps yielded many clean eels every night.. |
Finding a suitable location for setting traps is easy, but only experienced people know where the ideal spot is. According to experience, the best place to set traps is in clear, warm water with minimal fluctuations. The traps should also be spaced far apart; a few traps per section of the river are sufficient.
Currently, in Cao Veu village, there are more than 10 households engaged in catching eels in the river. The Giang River, flowing through this area, is clean and cool, with many types of plankton, creating favorable conditions for eels to thrive. This section of the river is located in a border area, so it is less exploited compared to the Lam River, and the eels caught there are very delicious, with firm flesh.
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| Delicious dishes made from eels. |
Currently, fresh and delicious mud eels are a favorite delicacy for many people. The price ranges from 100,000 to 150,000 VND/kg, but they are not easy to buy because the supply is limited.
Eel is prepared into many delicious and unique dishes such as: braised eel with turmeric, stir-fried eel with lemongrass and chili, eel hot pot, eel porridge, and eel sour soup.
"The eels are brought home and cleaned of their slime (many people don't remove the intestines). For connoisseurs, the belly of the eel is the most prized part. If there's not enough to eat, people often dry the eels for long-term consumption. This is also one of the famous specialties that everyone loves, especially when the dried eels are grilled and served with some fresh vegetables and rice wine – a delicious and enjoyable meal." |
Huyen Trang - Thai Hien