Bustling young linh fish season in the headwaters of the Mekong Delta

For the people of the Mekong Delta, especially the localities in the upstream areas of the Southwest border such as An Giang and Dong Thap, the flood season brings many fish and shrimp products, but the thing that people look forward to the most is young linh fish - a famous specialty, only found in the Southwest region. Every year around the 7th lunar month, when the Mekong River turns red with alluvium, it rushes in, flooding the fields in the upstream areas of the Mekong Delta with fish and shrimp. The arrival of alluvium is also the time when people in the upstream areas of the Southwest border are busy in the season of exploiting and catching young linh fish.

"God-given gift"

After 4 am, when the darkness still covered the entire southwestern border region, Mr. Nguyen Van Gang, Head of Phu Thuan Hamlet (Nhon Hoi Commune) drove us through the flooded fields to enter the Ruot Canal market (in Nhon Hoi Commune, An Giang Province) - a spontaneous freshwater fish market that was held in a flash on the fields during the flood season. The motorboat (a motorboat made of composite plastic) rushed out into the flooded fields, the sound of the engine drowning out the laughter of a few friends from Ho Chi Minh City who were experiencing the flood season for the first time.

With one hand controlling the boat, the other hand pointing to the flooded fields bordering the Cambodian border ahead, Mr. Gang said that around the seventh lunar month, when this border field begins to be flooded, it is also the time when the people here are bustling to enter the fishing season for fish and shrimp, but mainly young linh fish.

According to Mr. Gang, when the flood season comes, the production land outside the dike is flooded, farming is temporarily interrupted, thanks to the profit from catching young linh fish, people have an income to cover living expenses and send their children to school. That is why people in the West often call young linh fish "a gift from heaven". From the upper Mekong River, young linh fish follow the alluvial flow to the Southwest. On the drifting journey, young linh fish both migrate and grow. Depending on each stage of development, young linh fish are processed into many diverse dishes, becoming a unique specialty of the Mekong Delta during the flood season.

When the flood season comes, the production land outside the dike is flooded, farming is temporarily interrupted, thanks to the profit from catching linh fish, people have an income to cover living expenses and send their children to school.

“This year, the floodwaters not only came early but were also nearly half a meter higher than last year. The floodwaters came and rose slowly, creating favorable conditions for fish, shrimp and aquatic resources to grow and develop. People also had an easier time fishing and caught more fish,” Mr. Gang shared.

While we were lost in the story about the flood season and the young linh fish - a typical fish of the flood season, appearing only once a year with the flood water, associated with the memories of many generations of residents of the Mekong Delta, Mr. Gang let us stop by a small boat drifting in the middle of the vast flood field, where Mr. Vo Van Le and his wife (Nhon Hoi commune) were casting nets to catch young linh fish to explore further.

Through the story, it is known that because the family does not have any fields or gardens, every year Mr. Le and his wife only hope that the water will come early so that they can have a job to make a living. This year, the water flooded the fields early, on the 15th day of the 6th lunar month, there was the first batch of fish of the season, young linh fish poured in a lot, every day, his 20 nets can catch about 50kg of young linh fish and several kilos of other fish to sell to traders and restaurants in the area for about 1 million VND/day.

Quickly scooping each net of shiny silver-white linh fish from the dugout boat to the floating raft to weigh and sell to traders. Mr. Le said that at this time, the young linh fish are growing with the tide, bigger than chopsticks. If in Nhon Hoi commune, live young linh fish cost 20,000-30,000 VND/kg, in markets in Chau Doc, Long Xuyen... the price is about 150,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Le Thanh Dien (living in An Phu commune, An Giang province), a trader who has been purchasing young linh fish in the Kenh Ruot fish market and Bac Dai market (Nhon Hoi commune, An Giang province) for over 25 years, said that every day he purchases 5-6 tons of young linh fish. To catch the right water level, many fish move, people set traps and nets to catch a big catch, which must be 10 tons or more.

Specialties of the flood season

At dawn, at the Kenh Ruot fish market bordering Cambodia, the scene of buying and selling young linh fish and other flood season products is very bustling. The sounds of invitations, bargaining, and the sound of oars splashing water create a bustling flood season music. Here, every day, large dugout canoes and round boats slowly cut through the water, carrying young linh fish from the border downstream to Chau Doc market to be weighed and sold to traders. From here, young linh fish continue their journey to markets and restaurants throughout the provinces and cities of the Southern region and the whole country.

During flood season, linh fish dominate the aquatic species list in natural river environments.

For people in the West, young linh fish is a special gift, associated with memories and feelings of homeland. At the beginning of the season, young linh fish are as small as chopsticks, with soft bones, used to fry in flour, braise with tamarind, braise with fish sauce and eat with lotus flowers, sesban flowers... Larger young linh fish are ground into meat to make sausage or cooked in sour soup with the rich flavor typical of people in the West.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen (72 years old, living in Nhon Hoi commune, An Giang province) said that now the first season of young linh fish is not as cheap as before. However, every time he sees the canal flooded, he is busy looking for young linh fish to buy for his family to eat, as a way to welcome the annual flood season.

“As a promise, when the water level “turns”, An Giang people must definitely buy young linh fish to prepare dishes, because of the mentality that “not eating young linh fish means not welcoming the flood season”, Mr. Tuyen emphasized.

According to Mr. Tuyen, in the past, when the flood came, there were countless young linh fish, so many that even making fish sauce and preserving fish sauce for the whole year was not enough, so they had to be sold cheaply. Young linh fish was so cheap that it became a proverb: "Cheap as linh fish". However, in recent years, young linh fish has entered the culinary world as a somewhat luxurious dish, not only expensive, but sometimes even with money it is difficult to buy.

That is why, during a flood season, many people from Ho Chi Minh City, the Southeast, etc. travel back and forth several times just to enjoy the full range of flavors of young linh fish. Because for many people, enjoying young linh fish is also the process of enjoying the diverse colors of Western culture.

Ms. Pham Thu Ha (living in Ho Chi Minh City) is visiting the "ghost market" Tha La (Vinh Te ward, An Giang province) - the largest freshwater fish market in the West, which usually gathers from around 3 am to nearly 6 am, sharing: She has been to An Giang countless times. Every flood season, she and her friends from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City call each other to An Giang to enjoy the specialty dish of young linh fish. In the midst of the vast landscape of the water fields, when the gentle winds from the distant fields whistle, accompanied by the chill of the rains in the season..., everyone can sit together around a rustic meal, with a pot of braised young linh fish, which is an indescribable feeling. If anyone has ever tasted it, it will surely be unforgettable.

Ms. Ha said that the young linh fish is left whole, put into a pot seasoned with a little fish sauce, sugar, pepper, garlic... while boiling. Because young linh fish is very "shy" of fire, wait until the water boils, then scoop it out and eat it with a bunch of fresh, spring vegetables such as sesban flowers, water spinach, and fresh, crunchy water lilies, mixed with the sweet, fragrant fish meat on the tip of the tongue...; it is more than enough to sublimate culinary emotions.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Nhon Hoi Commune (An Giang Province), young linh fish - a typical product of the flood season - not only helps people earn more money but also creates a unique culinary culture.

Nowadays, thanks to the people's acumen, young linh fish have entered a new journey, becoming a high-value economic commodity. Young linh fish are purchased and processed into many different products such as salted linh fish, linh fish for fish sauce, canned linh fish... sold everywhere, even exported abroad. Some places also offer tours associated with culinary experiences, turning the flood season into a typical tourism product... However, due to many factors and climate change, the flood season in recent years is no longer as "generous" as before. For the young linh fish season to be truly sustainable, people need to change their mindset from simple exploitation to economic development associated with conservation so that young linh fish, a gift of nature, becomes a long-term livelihood support for people in the southwestern border region.

Article and photos: CONG MAO (VNA)

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/ron-rang-mua-ca-linh-non-noi-dau-nguon-chau-tho-cuu-long-a190665.html