Ham
Ho is an attractive location for tourists at Tay Son, Binh Dinh province. That
dried area has all natural advantages for ant nesting. Weaver ants’ eggs carry
high nutrition so that locals have used them to cook delicious and nourishing
food.
Ants’
eggs harvesting season lasts from January to end of February. This is the time
when quality of ants’ eggs reaches their best – milky, succulent, and
nutritious. During the season, local people can collect 6 – 8 kilograms’ eggs
and earn millions Vietnam dong.
Local people in Ham Ho ants’ eggs are given special gifts.
Experienced
ants’ eggs hunters said that valuable weaver ants’ nests had a thin white cover
all outer leaves, where contained lots of mature eggs.
To
seek weaver ants’ nests, locals must go into primary forests and it’s not a
piece of cake. Hunters must have both experienced tricks and tack or they will
be attacked by the tremendous ant families.
Newbies
usually mistaken between ants’ eggs and ants’ larval. To distinguish those two,
hunters base on colors of ants’ nest. If nests are still dark green, inside
eggs should be new; if nests turn into bright yellow, certainly eggs have
developed to larval.
To
collect ants’ eggs, hunters use a bamboo tree about 8-meter-long with one end
sharpened, where hangs a bucket to catch eggs. They poke ants’ nests by the
bamboo picket times to times, shaking to get all ants and their eggs dropped
into the bucket. On the bottom of the bucket is a thick layer of ash to protect
eggs. Finally, hunters just need to pick eggs out.
Seeking and collecting weaver ants’ eggs are not a piece of cake.
Weaver
ants’ eggs can be found at other regions, from the Middle Highlands to Quang
Binh province or the west of Nghe An province. Highland people cook ants’ eggs
with local bamboo shoot; people in Cu Chi have ants’ eggs sour soup with giang
leaves and sliced banana trunk; and in Minh Hoa (Quang Binh province) locals
love to have ants’ eggs sour soup with fresh rice noodles. Ants’ eggs must be
enjoyed slowly as caviar to feel all their rich flavors.
Ham
Ho locals have 3 favorite dishes: ants’ eggs salad, stewed ants’ eggs with
pickled mustard, and ants’ eggs soup.
Salad
recipe is quite simple. Stir-fry ants’ eggs and season; thinly slice cucumbers,
and young jackfruits; break pummelo’s segments into pieces; mix all vegetables
and fruits with cooked ants’ eggs; serve with roasted peanut. This unique salad
carries all acrid, sour, and sweet tastes.
Famous ants’ eggs salad of Binh Dinh province.
Stewed
ants’ egg with pickled mustard is another delicious dish. People usually use
old pickled mustard to stew about 2 minutes and serve it hot.
Ants’
eggs soup is even simpler. Bring water to boil; drop ants’ eggs into boiling
pot and season to taste; garnish with chopped green onions; serve with rice.
So many delicious dishes are made from weaver ants’ eggs.
Especially,
Ham Ho locals have their own natural medicine to treat diabetes. Weaver ants
are able to produce an amount of acid that promotes the growth of citrus
plants, such as orange, lemon, or grapefruit. They just hang a piece of beef on
a tree where weaver ants are nesting in two hours. After that, they thinly
slice the beef and make porridge. Immediately, the sour stuff from the ants
infiltrated into beef will reduce excess sugar in the blood of patients.
So
valuable but weaver ants’ eggs are getting much fewer because of environmental
effects. If you’re lucky coming to Ham Ho during harvest season, you still may
enjoy that amazing given gift.
By Thu Pham