At the beginning of the year, Nghe An coastal village has a red fire to grill fish.
Thanh Phuc•February 9, 2025 17:14
At this time, fishermen continuously have a big catch of herring and anchovies, so the grills of the people in Nghe An coastal villages are red hot all day and night, with workers busy grilling fish from early morning until late at night.
January is the main season for herring fishing. Fishing boats close to shore, dock after just a few hours at sea, the freshest and biggest batches of fish are purchased by traders and brought here for processing and grilling to supply to the market. Photo: TPThe fish chosen to be grilled must be fresh and green, with scales that are still shimmering silver, to have a delicious, fragrant, sweet taste... Photo: Thanh PhucAt this time, the fishing villages from Nghi Thuy, Nghi Hai, Thu Thuy (Vinh city), Dien Van (Dien Chau), Van Hai, Phu Nghia (Quynh Luu), Quynh Phuong, Quynh Lap (Hoang Mai town) are continuously grilling herring, anchovies, mackerel... to serve the market after Tet. Photo: Thanh PhucMs. Nguyen Thi Xuan, who has many years of experience grilling fish in Quynh Phuong ward (Hoang Mai town) said: “Grilling fish requires experience, care and meticulousness. When placing the fish on the grill, you must measure it so that it fits properly, so that it can be rotated and turned over; when grilling, you must adjust the coals underneath so that the heat is evenly distributed. Each type of fish has different characteristics, some have thick flesh, some have thin flesh, so the time and way of grilling are also different.” Photo: Thanh PhucTo cook the fish evenly, beautifully and fragrantly, the griller must sit and turn the fish continuously. Because if the heat is not enough, the fish will not cook, if the heat is too high, the fish will burn. Photo: Thanh PhucMs. Ho Thi Thang, owner of a grill in Dien Van commune (Dien Chau) said: "After Tet, market demand increased when people bought as gifts, tourists came back to visit the spring, attend the first festival of the year, so we also opened the shop earlier, on the 4th day of Tet, the fire was already blazing to grill fish. On average, each day our facility grilled about 500 - 700 kg of fish, hiring 4 - 5 workers to work." Photo: Thanh PhucGrilling fish provides jobs and stable income for many local workers in coastal areas. Workers at fish grilling establishments are paid between 250,000 and 400,000 VND per day. Photo: TPHowever, fish grilling workers have a hard time making a living. “The temperature outside has dropped significantly these days, but next to the red-hot charcoal stove like this, we are sweating. Our hands are constantly stirring the charcoal and turning the fish. Even though we wear two layers of thick gloves, our hands are still hot from the charcoal fire, and our bodies are covered in smoke and dust,” said Ms. Hoang Thi Ly, a fish griller in Nghi Thuy ward (Vinh city). Photo: Thanh PhucCurrently, in order to increase the advantages of grilled fish, many coastal localities have planned to build modern and sustainable fishing infrastructure to reduce labor and limit environmental pollution caused by coal smoke. Photo: Thanh PhucAt the same time, we aim to develop grilled fish products into OCOP products to increase competitiveness in the market, create jobs and stable income for workers in the fish grilling profession... Photo: Thanh Phuc
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