"Hunting" tadpoles to make a specialty dish, farmers in the highlands of Nghe An earn millions of dong every day
(Baonghean.vn) - At this time, people in the mountainous district of Ky Son (Nghe An) are "in season" hunting tadpoles in rivers and streams to process into food, or sell to earn income for their families.
| Tadpole hunting clip. Clip: Duy Khanh |
These days, taking advantage of the warmer weather, Mr. Cut Van Doan and many other people in Nhan Cu village, Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district went together to visit the tadpole traps that had been set many days before. The traps used to catch tadpoles by the people of Nhan Cu village are quite simple: they are used baskets.
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| Winter is the time when Ky Son people hunt tadpoles. Photo: Lu Phu |
The bait for tadpoles is rice wine lees and a handful of castor leaves. Put them in a bucket and soak them deep in water. After about 2 to 3 hours, you can visit the trap and collect the tadpoles.
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| The bait is a little bit of rice wine lees and castor oil leaves. Photo: Duy Khanh |
Mr. Cut Van Doan said: "This season, I placed more than 40 traps in the basin of Nam Mo hydroelectric reservoir. I visit the traps 2 to 4 times a day, each time collecting 10 - 15 kg of tadpoles. With a selling price of 50 - 70,000 VND/kg, my family earns 1.5 - 2.5 million VND per day." It is known that this is a fairly large income for Khmu households in Nhan Cu village.
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| Every day, people earn millions of dong from trapping tadpoles. Photo: Lu Phu |
Tadpoles are a favorite dish of the ethnic minorities in the highlands of Nghe An. Tadpoles can be processed into many dishes such as: Sour bamboo shoot soup, Lam soup, Pia soup, Lap soup... This is a traditional dish prepared by the Khmu people to entertain distinguished guests visiting their home.