Quang Ninh is not only known as one of the most famous tourist destinations in the North with beautiful Ha Long Bay, Co To Island, etc., but also attracts a large number of visitors every year thanks to its rich cuisine, with many unique and delicious specialties. One of them is the sandworm - an expensive seafood with high nutritional value.
Sandworms are known by many different names, depending on the region, such as sea worms (sea worms), earth ginseng, sandworms, ground ginseng, and sea worms. Despite their strange appearance, sandworms are a famous specialty in Quang Ninh, containing high nutritional content and are enthusiastically sought after by gourmets.
The appearance of the sandworm is reddish brown, at first glance it looks very similar to earthworms but is larger in size and has many tiny veins on its body, the inside is filled with sand.
This type of creature often hides under sand crevices and caves in coastal areas, sometimes at the bottom of the sea up to 30m deep. Therefore, to hunt them, local fishermen often wait early in the morning, when the tide has just receded.
“Sandworms can only be harvested when the sea level drops, around March to July every year. To harvest this product, local people have to go when the tide is low, usually early in the morning. Even experienced people using specialized tools can catch sandworms,” said Ms. Doan Trang, a resident of Van Don district.
There are two types of sea worms: fresh sea worms and dried sea worms. While fresh sea worms are soft, chewy and crispy, they are often processed into delicious dishes such as stir-fried kohlrabi, soup, porridge, etc., dried sea worms are attractive because of their crunchiness and can be preserved and used for a long time.
In particular, when grilled, dried sea worms have a very attractive aroma, becoming a favorite snack for men and are considered by many gourmets to be more delicious than grilled squid.
“Fresh sea worms are the best, chosen by many gourmets. But not everyone has the experience and knows how to choose good sea worms. To choose fresh, delicious, quality sea worms, you need to choose ones that have a fishy smell of the sea, a thick, round body and are clean of sand,” said Ms. Thu Phuong, a resident of Co To island district, Quang Ninh.
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Although fresh sea worms are loved by many people, dried sea worms are easy to preserve and can be preserved for a long time, and can be transported to many distant provinces and cities, serving the needs of diners to enjoy this specialty (Photo: QN sea worms, Ha's Green Garden)
Despite its unattractive appearance, sea worms have high nutritional value, containing up to 18 amino acids and 17 minerals necessary for the body. According to Oriental medicine, this specialty is good for men's health, people with asthma, children with rickets,...
Each kilogram of fresh sea worms costs about 300,000 - 400,000 VND. However, dried sea worms are much more expensive, ranging from 4-7 million VND/kg (depending on the type).
“On average, about 10-12kg of fresh sea worms can produce 1kg of dried sea worms. After being harvested, fresh sea worms must be washed clean of sand, blanched in boiling water, and then dried with a charcoal stove to dry quickly while still ensuring aesthetics.
Each batch of drying takes about 2 hours. The whole process from the initial processing to the finished product requires a lot of effort, so it is understandable that dried sea worms are expensive,” Ms. Phuong added.
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Sea worms contain high nutritional content and are good for health, so they are enthusiastically sought after by Vietnamese gourmets (Photo: Pham Ngoc Dong, Thu Mai)
Although sold at a high price, sea worms are still a specialty sought after by many diners, willing to spend even a tael of gold to buy them.
Ms. Ngo Thuy - owner of a restaurant in Ha Long City said that dried sea worms are an expensive ingredient but have a characteristic sweet taste so they are often used to prepare dishes with broth such as pho, vermicelli, etc. instead of MSG and monosodium glutamate.
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Dried sea worms can be fried or grilled, both are delicious and are a favorite snack of many diners (Photo: An Trang, Hoang Xuan Truong)
Currently, in addition to being sold and served directly to diners at many eateries and restaurants in Quang Ninh, sea worms are also packaged, vacuum-sealed, and transported to many provinces and cities across the country, becoming an expensive specialty gift that many tourists seek to buy as gifts for relatives and friends.
Phan Dau
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