Specialties of the land of 'yellow flowers on green grass' are in season, people are busy making millions

After a night of fishing far from shore, at dawn, boats full of fish return to dock at Nhon Hoi village (An Hoa Hai, Tuy An, Phu Yen).

Each basket of fresh anchovies is brought ashore, some are sold to traders to make fish sauce, the majority are purchased by processing facilities to make dried anchovies for export.

Depending on the quality, fish farms buy at different prices. Ba Lai anchovies are more common, with prices ranging from 15,000-20,000 VND/kg; while Ngan anchovies are rare, their prices can go up to 80,000-100,000 VND/kg.

Fresh anchovies are carefully processed, washed with diluted salt water, and those that do not meet the requirements are removed. The processing step must be done quickly to ensure that the freshness and deliciousness are preserved.

The fish are placed on each tray and steamed in the steamer, about 15-20 trays at a time. This step is very important and requires high concentration.

The cook must keep an eye on both the heat and the water. If the heat is uneven and there is not enough water added, the quality of the steamed fish will not be guaranteed.

After about 5-10 minutes of steaming, the fish is just cooked at a temperature of over 60 degrees Celsius, giving off a fragrant aroma. The cook starts to dry it.

The beach in front of Nhon Hoi village looks towards Hon Yen. Batches of steamed fish are spread out on bamboo racks. Female workers take turns drying under the hot sun to turn the fish so they dry evenly.

From morning to evening, they seem to never stop washing and steaming. If the weather is nice, the fish only needs to be dried in the sun for one day. On days when the weather is not favorable, the fish must be dried in the sun for two or three days.

As for Ngan anchovies, the worker must select the fish, classify them according to the trader's requirements, remove trash fish, and choose beautiful, whole fish.

“For a basket of finished anchovies, each person receives 13,000 VND. Some days I make hundreds of baskets, some days I only make 10 baskets. It’s hard work but fun. Every day I save a little bit to take care of my family and my children’s education,” said Ms. Phan Thi My Thi.

Mrs. Dinh Huong's fish steamer in Nhon Hoi village has about 10 workers. They are all women living in the village.

Whenever fish arrive, Ms. Huong’s steaming furnace and other furnaces operate at full capacity to supply the market. “Even when the anchovy catch is low, the furnace still operates, creating jobs and maintaining the lives of the women in the village,” Ms. Huong affirmed.

On average, a fish kiln in Nhon Hoi fishing village can steam 2-4 tons of fresh fish per day. After drying, nearly 2 tons of dried fish will be collected, priced from 60,000-90,000 VND/kg, depending on the quality.

After drying, the fish will be sought out by traders. This is a specialty that is not only famous domestically but also exported abroad (USA, China, Korea, Japan).

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dac-san-xu-hoa-vang-tren-co-xanh-vao-mua-nguoi-dan-tat-bat-kiem-tien-trieu-2383089.html