River prawns, an animal that used to swim in the fields, are now a rare delicacy, a Vietnamese specialty, tastier than fish meat.

Freshwater shrimp are crustaceans, like other shrimps, their shells are made of chitin. Freshwater shrimp are a nutritious food, especially protein, and are good for your health. Freshwater shrimp used to swim in ponds and lakes, and thrived in low-lying fields. They were a common, easy-to-find food, but now they are rare and tastier than fish.

River shrimp is a type of shrimp that lives in freshwater areas such as ponds, lakes, and rice fields. Also belonging to the freshwater shrimp family, with the same habits as river shrimp, are river shrimp and stream shrimp.

In Vietnam, in rural and mountainous areas from the North to the South, everywhere there are freshwater shrimp, river shrimp, and stream shrimp.

However, due to the process of development, urbanization, industrialization, and resource exploitation, the resources of freshwater shrimp, river shrimp, and stream shrimp are increasingly depleted. In some ecological areas, ponds, fields, and rivers are lacking shrimp.

Although freshwater prawns are very small in size, their meat is delicious and rich, with a sweet taste like MSG. When cooked into a dish, freshwater prawns are often very crispy because of their thin shell, sweet meat, and go well with rice.

Freshwater shrimp are often processed into simple, rustic dishes such as stir-fried with lemon leaves, stir-fried with pork belly, or stir-fried with sweet and salty flavors.

Shrimp, crab, prawn... are animals that live in freshwater environments. Since ancient times, Vietnamese ancestors have caught and exploited them to serve their survival needs for thousands of years.

Freshwater shrimp, once a popular and easy-to-find food, is now a specialty. Freshwater shrimp can be processed into many delicious dishes, rich in nutrients, especially calcium and protein, and is good for health. Photo: Anh Duong.

River prawns are a rustic dish, simply prepared but very delicious when combined with white rice.

With the combination of fried river shrimp with garlic and chili, the dish will stimulate the taste buds, most delicious when the weather is cool and rainy.

The crunchiness and sweetness of the freshwater shrimp meat combined with the rich, spicy aroma of the spices when eaten with white rice will be extremely delicious.

Freshwater shrimp is rich in protein, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine and vitamin A, easy to digest, suitable for the elderly and people with weak bodies.

Shrimp also contains a lot of phosphorus and calcium, which is very good for pregnant women and children. Below are some dishes with shrimp that are very easy to make.

Shrimp and squash soup - a rustic dish that is now a Vietnamese specialty. Squash soup is refreshing and nutritious in the summer.

Can use freshwater shrimp to make delicious, nutritious dishes, help sick people recover and stay healthy such as:

Shrimp cake

Wash and peel 300g shrimp, put in blender with 200g meat. Finely chop onion and dill, then put in bowl with minced shrimp and meat, season with seasoning powder, fish sauce, let marinate for 15 minutes. Before frying, add two egg yolks, mix well. Roll into balls and fry until cooked. Serve with sweet and sour sauce and raw vegetables.

Shrimp and bottle gourd

This dish will be more delicious if you choose shrimp eggs, clean the shrimp, and pound them. Peel the squash, chop lengthwise to get the flesh, and remove the seeds.

Put the pounded (or ground) shrimp into a pot of cold water, boil until the shrimp meat floats up into pieces, add squash, onions, and cilantro to make a delicious pot of soup. Shrimp and squash soup should be eaten with salted eggplant and shrimp paste, which will go well with rice.

Fried freshwater shrimp with lemon leaves

Wash the freshwater shrimp, cut off the whiskers, and toss with a little salt. Put the shrimp in a hot pan, stir-fry until the water dries up, the shrimp turns golden, and the salt sticks to the pan, then add cooking oil to make the shrimp more crispy and shiny. Add the green onions and stir-fry evenly. Before removing the pan from the heat, sprinkle the lemon leaves on top and stir-fry again. Fried shrimp is delicious with white rice.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tom-dong-loai-dong-vat-xua-boi-day-dong-nay-la-cua-hiem-dac-san-viet-nam-ngon-hon-thit-ca-20250321120600637.htm