BUMBLEBEE TRAVEL VIETNAM FORUM

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Why you should clap your hands

In days past, living on a strip of land, such as the Red River Delta, Vietnamese people in the area looked for what was easy to catch, easy to cook and tasty to eat. So who could blame them for developing a taste for fresh water mussels, mussels, oysters and snails? These days such food is considered a specialty.

For now, I'll concentrate on introducing mussels. There are a few different kinds, including trai, hen and trung truc and plenty of good reasons to eat them besides their taste. Mussels are rich in zinc, in fact they contain twice the amount of zinc found in beef. Mussels can also help avoid skin problems, strengthen bones and decrease anxiety, as well as, ahem, increase our reproduction capabilities. Mussels also hell cool our system, detoxify o~ body, improve eyesight and dried mussels are often used fortify the kidney.

There are various ways to cook mussels. However, before cooking, fresh mussels are soaked in water for two hours, washed carefully, poured into a pot with added salt, and boiled without adding water. After a few minutes, the shells pop open and the mussels will discharge a lot of sweet juice making for a tasty broth. You can then gather the mussels and clean them with hot water before putting in another dish. Here are a few Vietnamese dishes to get you inspired:

* (Chao trai) Mussel rice-soup: Add rice to the sweet broth and simmer till the rice is well-done and smooth, then add fried mussels. Before serving, add chopped spring onion and knotweed for adults or chopped mulberry leaves for children. To be served hot. Considered a very good dish for pregnant or breast feeding woman.

* (Canh trai) Mussel soup: A summer dish best enjoyed with rice and salted eggplant. Boil the broth, add salt, fish sauce, tomatoes, sour star fruit or green mangosteen or several twigs of tamarind leaves. Add the fried mussels and boil again, for a pot of delicious, sweet-and-sour soup. Served hot. The dish is good and nourishing for old and young alike and also breastfeeding women.

* (Trai nuong) Mussel balls: To increase vim and vigour, the locals believe large, fresh and fat mussels are the answer. To make mussel balls prise the shells open, take out the mussels and chop up. Mix with ground pork, chopped cat's ear mushrooms, spring onion, then roll the mixture into small balls, put back on the shells and grill on a charcoal oven. The dish is served hot with fish sauce, which has added lemon juice, chopped chili and garlic. Considered good for old people with a poor appetite.

* (Trai nuong voi la lot) Mussel kebab wrapped in pepper leaf: After washing carefully, slice the fresh mussels and marinate with salt and pepper. Mix the mussels with lean and fat meat, wrap with pepper leaves (either la lot or la xuong song), and grilled on the charcoal oven. The dish is also served hot with sweet-and-sour fish sauce. Considered a good way to treat a cough or aching joints and muscles.

Nhan Dan News
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