Phuoc Long's dried buffalo meat is famous.

Bac Lieu province is not lacking in shrimp and fish, so when Tet (Lunar New Year) comes around, the usual local specialties can become tiresome. To entertain guests during Tet, hosts often grill dried seafood, quickly adding a spicy kick along with a glass of celebratory wine. One of the currently popular dried seafood dishes here is dried buffalo meat.

Dried buffalo meat must be sun-dried for at least three days to achieve the best quality (Hoang Nam).

Famous for being delicious.

If you ask in Bac Lieu where to buy the famous and delicious dried buffalo meat, locals will direct you to Phi Van establishment located right in the market of Phuoc Long town, Phuoc Long district.

Visiting this place in the days leading up to Tet 2024, tourists will see an elderly couple; one is busy checking and turning over the dried buffalo meat drying in front of their house, while the other is busy packing hundreds of kilograms of dried buffalo meat to send to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Phi Vân's dried seafood stall in Phuoc Long, Bac Lieu, specializes in making and selling the famous dried buffalo meat by hand (Hoang Nam).

Thanks to my nephews' help, some products are sold online, while others are packaged and shipped. Those who want a softer texture should specify in advance. We only make what we order, ensuring that all products are of high quality.

Speaking to a reporter from the Economic and Urban Newspaper, 62-year-old Mr. Phi Van said: "Before, I worked in a different profession, but then I suddenly realized I should research and experiment with making dried buffalo meat. Seeing that it provided a stable income, I pursued the trade. And because it's so delicious, for over 20 years now, dried buffalo meat has spread all over the world."

"Every month, Phi Vân sells several hundred kilograms to several tons of produce to the market. But the busiest time is during Tet (Lunar New Year), when selling 2.5 to 3 tons is commonplace," added Uncle Phi Vân.

The couple only makes dried buffalo meat when customers place orders to ensure the best quality (Hoang Nam).

Back then, they started by offering samples to a few people to try, and when they found it delicious, they encouraged them to mass-produce it for business. Gradually, more and more people learned about it and started ordering it as a local gift for Tet (Lunar New Year), and that's how Mr. and Mrs. Van's dried buffalo meat business became stable as it is today. Thanks to that, their children all got a good education and are now working far away. "The sad thing is, now that they have stable jobs, none of them come back to help, leaving the old couple alone," said Mrs. Nguyen Thi Theu, 58, Mr. Van's wife.

Secrets to building a brand

The couple explained that to make their famous dried buffalo meat, the meat and spices are the two most important ingredients. All steps must be done meticulously by hand. Accordingly, only the leg and thigh meat of the buffalo are sourced from slaughterhouses in the area. While still fresh, the tendons and fat must be removed to prevent the meat from being tough or having a fishy taste. The main spices include sugar, salt, MSG, soy sauce, garlic, chili, and finely chopped lemongrass.

Dried buffalo meat must be sun-dried for three full days; absolutely no machine drying is allowed. (Hoang Nam)

But the most important step for delicious dried buffalo meat is the sun-drying process. After marinating the buffalo meat thoroughly with spices, it must be sun-dried for three days (i.e., three days of strong sunshine). After processing and drying, 2.5 kg of fresh meat yields only 1 kg of dried buffalo meat. Therefore, the current price of dried buffalo meat ranges from 580,000 to 600,000 VND/kg.

The buffalo meat must be fresh and have all tendons and fat removed (Hoang Nam).

“When it rains but the sun hasn't dried enough, we have to vacuum-pack it and put it in the refrigerator to wait for sunny weather to continue drying. If someone wants it softer, they can ask, and we'll dry it in less sunlight. But we absolutely cannot dry it using a machine, because the dried buffalo meat will be of poor quality; this is the rule. So when it rains heavily, we just have to give up,” Uncle Phi Vân recounted.

Speaking to the Economic and Urban Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Men, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Phuoc Long district, said: “Dried buffalo meat from Phi Van facility is considered a strong and famous brand of the district, loved by consumers for many years. In 2024, the district will support the procedures to have this product become a 3-star OCOP product.”

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/nuc-tieng-kho-trau-phuoc-long.html