'Strabismus' with all kinds of trenches and sea creatures that advanced to the ancient king

Peanut worms, ginsengs, lime fishes . are "trench - seafood" dishes used by ancient kings, emperors.

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In the past, delicious and unique dishes or specialties in each region were always brought to the king. These are dishes with many nutrients, rare and extremely delicious.

The list of the king's dishes below will help you better understand the foods that ancient kings still enjoy.

1. Peanuts - 3.5 - 4 million / kg

Few people know that, since ancient times, peanut peanuts were exploited to serve as a tribute to the king, mandarins or only wealthy people were eligible to use it because of its special use in strengthening vitality.

However, this mollusca species lives only on coastal sandy beaches on Quan Lan and Minh Chau (Quang Ninh) and is only exploited in March to July.

When still fresh, peanut worms are about 5 - 10cm long. Particularly, there are children up to 15 - 40cm long, weigh from 1 to 3kg. When caught up from the surface of the sea, they cower, round like a ball, a small mouth like an air valve. The peanut skin changes color according to the environment, if it is soft and cool to use.

Peanut worms are shaped like a giant worm, living in caves and sand.

In addition to medicinal uses, peanuts are also used to make medicine or to cook pho for sweet, to cook delicious broth for many dishes during Tet.

However, the exploitation of peanut worms is not simple, because only women can exploit this rare thing - but men catch peanuts naturally.

Besides, marine residents can only use apricot to dig, not to use any kind of supporting machines. Perhaps because the source of exploitation is not large and manual, the price of one kilogram of peanut worms ranges from 3.5 to 4 million VND / kg.

2. Anh Vu fish - 2-3 million VND / kg

Anh Vu fish is one of the rare and precious fish species, considered as a product of the ancient king. According to some documents, in the third Hung Vuong period, a fisherman caught a strange fish in the Viet Tri river junction - the convergence of three big rivers - Thao River, Lo River, Da River. .

My fish has iridescent scales, white scales, red fins, lips like pig lips. Seeing this strange, this fisherman brought the king, when he ate, the king saw that the fish was both sweet and sweet, with a different flavor than other fish, he finished the meal and enjoyed it well. .

Currently, this species is found in many rivers and lakes with clean water in the Central Highlands but in quite rare quantities. Vu Anh Ang has medium size, about 31 - 67cm long, thick, tapered body on the tail, has two pairs of beard, weight can be up to 5kg. The fish body is ash-gray, the belly is light yellow, has a wide lower lip with a triangle, with many floating round spines.

The food of this fish is mainly green algae, algae and small invertebrates that live in the water by using food to shave food on the rock. According to skilled fishermen, it is the 'pig's lip' that is the best and most expensive part of Anh Vu fish.

Because the number of fish is not so many, some places have studied to multiply this species. The price of Anh Vu fish is quite high, about 2-3 million VND / kg of fish but there is no fish to sell.

3. Cuckoo birds - 1.8 million VND / kg

As a migratory bird from the North, living in herds in places with water such as ponds and lakes, where there are many aquatic and serow birds, it is known as a rare food only for the kings of the time. old.

Legend has it that the bird has the name of a bird by the bird eating a lot of precious ginseng on the mountain, so bird meat is considered a great tonic. Birds are moderately sized, weighing about 0.5 - 0.8kg, and their bodies are smaller, smaller than the ducks.

Bird's head and neck covered with black hair, red eyes, pointed beaks in pale yellow, ivory-white crests, short wings of purple. The bird's feet are high, have light gray green color with 4 fingers, 2 middle fingers have 3 burns, 2 side fingers have 2 burns; The fingers all have a thin film.

Many documents show that the ginseng is a product of the king of the West Lake region from the year of Tu Duc 17th to Tu Duc 24th year. Due to the heavy exploitation, the number of birds in the wild today is very rare, the price of this bird is also at 1.8 million VND / kg.

4. Lime fish - 1.3 million VND / kg

Sea lizardfish is a brackish fish, living in the whirlpool, the confluence of the Saigon River and Dong Nai River, where both saline, brackish and fresh water flows.

The lime key has a red tilapia-like body, but the fish body is thick and the scales are shiny yellow. The heaviest one a fisherman catches up to 14kg. After mating, the female key turns the fertilized eggs into the male's body and nourishes them in the bloodstream until they become fry.

Dorsal is the self-defense weapon of the lime fish. When the big fish, dorsal fin will develop into long bones with hands and sharp, poking up like a tree using betel lime to eat, so it is called a lime key.

Lime fish is very delicious and is a good source of protein, low fat, many vitamins such as niacin, B6 and minerals such as calcium, iron . help to create red blood cells and activate the immune system. Fish also contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

Lime fish is a precious marine specialty and increasingly scarce. Therefore, the price of this dish is also increasing. Lime fish is welcomed by gourmets with the price of 1 - 1.3 million VND / kg.

5. Dong Tao chicken - VND 1 million / kg

Dong Tao chicken or Dong Cao chicken is an endemic and rare chicken of Vietnam. This is the traditional breeding chicken of Dong Tao commune of Khoai Chau district, Hung Yen province.

The salient feature of this type of chicken is its ugly legs, big and rough legs like elephant legs, which can be over 4.5kg (rooster) and over 3.5 kg (hens) when grown up.

Dong Tao chicken usually weighs 5 - 7kg / head, with bamboo shaped head, wings like two sons face, tail like fish, red skin, big legs like the elephant's legs.

According to legend, ancient people often use Dong Tao chicken to worship, celebrate, or advance the King because of the special delicious taste.

Delicious and distinctive Dong Tao chicken is not mixed with any kind of chicken.

The part of sweet chicken with a lot of breast meat mass, reddish pink, chicken thighs has lots of billowing muscles, no tendons, no toughness. The reason why Dong Tao chicken has delicious meat is because the chickens are released and run, not kept in captivity, eating natural bran so the meat is firm.

Dong Tao chicken is pure and has a big body, big big legs, rough, surrounded the legs in front is a layer of skin arranged in rows, the rest of the skin is like the surface of mulberry fruit. , four toes spread out, dividing the fingers clearly, the feet were thick, balanced so the chicken walked firmly.

However, the price of pure Dong Tao chicken is high. Each kg of Dong Tao chicken in the garden costs about 600,000 - 1 million VND / kg depending on type. With pure Dong Tao roosters, there are beautiful generals, big legs, stately from 4 - 5.5 kg / animal, which cost 5 - 10 million VND and may be higher.

Currently, Dong Tao chicken belongs to a list of rare and precious poultry breeds of Vietnam, which is being preserved with genetic resources to maintain and develop this precious chicken breed.

6. Ripe chicken - 1 million VND / kg

Speaking of ripe chickens, you will probably remember immediately the details of King Hung demanding Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh the "ivory elephant, ripe chicken, ripe pink horse" to be proposed to Mme Nuong and give that this breed is not real.

Although the true origin of this breed has not been confirmed yet, the ripe chicken is being bred in Lang Son and Phu Tho. The ripe chicken breed is small in size and usually weighs no more than 1.5kg. Crude red chicken like blood, curled tail like a rainbow and very thin, bright eyes, quite aggressive and aggressive.

The characteristic of this breed is that its legs are big, firm and evenly sprouted 3, 4 with each leg. Each spindle is long, short and different, growing in line. In particular, the top spear is completely just a horn, curved like a hook or a boar fang.

Chickens are fully mature and quite rare - only counting on the fingers, mainly seven and eight chicks. However, the price of a large chicken is quite large, up to about 1 million VND / kg. For any family that owns a genuine ripe chicken, its cost can be up to tens of millions of VND.