Master chef: Hanoian Nguyễn Thị Huyền (known as Huyền "Rươi") makes chả rươi.
In
Hà Nội, Nguyễn Thị Huyền, also known as Huyền "Rươi", has been famous
for years, with generations of residents having enjoyed her chả rươi (fried
seaworm cake).
Huyền
said that rươi (scientifically named
Nereididae, mainly lives in brackish water fields in Hải Dương and Nam Định
provinces) can be cooked many ways, citing the rươi kho niêu đất ( seaworm braised in a small clay pot), mắm rươi (fermented seaworm), and other
dishes as example.
But
she has stuck to selling seaworm cakes, having carved out a niche for herself.
Different
from other seaworm sellers in downtown Hà Nội, like Hàng Chiếu, Lò Đúc and Gia
Ngư, who make and sell dishes all year round by freezing the worms, Huyền cooks
and sells her dish only during the season, which usually falls between the
ninth and 11th lunar months.
She
told Việt Nam News that in the early 80s, she’d earned a living by travelling
to Hải Dương, Hải Phòng and Nam Định provinces to buy fresh seaworms, which was
very cheap at that time, to sell them in Hà Nội markets.
“Every
day I sell a dozen baskets or hundreds of kilos of worms. Thanks to the trade,
I was able to earn a stable income and raise my six children, although earning
a decent income was very difficult then (when the country was very poor).”
She
did well until the early 90s when she fell ill and suffered for a long time.
“I
was not able to travel to those provinces to buy seaworms. One of my close
friends advised me to make seaworm cakes and sell them instead. I agreed
because I’d learnt how to make tasty and delicious rươi cakes from my trading counterparts in Hải Dương and Hải Phòng
years ago.
“I
decided to sell seaworm cakes on the corner of Hòe Nhai Street in Hà Nội’s Old
Quarter, where I stayed,” said Huyền, adding that she opens her shop at 11am
and closes it at between six and seven in the evening.
“My
dish sells very well because I know how to choose fresh seaworm, the most
important factor, and also mandarin peels,” she said.
Huyền
said she orders mandarin peels from the northern province of Lạng Sơn, which is
the fruit’s native place. Other sellers use peels imported from the south or
China, and this might be making a difference in taste, she feels.
“Whether
the chả rươi is tasty or not defends
a lot on the mandarin peels. The ones I get from Lạng Sơn are a main ingredient
in giving my dish a special flavour, compared to others,” she said.
The
dish’s ingredients are fresh worm, dried onion, dill, minced pork, mandarin
peel, egg, pepper, fish sauce, and a little of chilli. These ingredients are
mixed and stirred well before being scooped into a big spoon and fried in a pot
of oil.
Culinary
expert Lê Kim Chi of the Quán Ăn Ngon Restaurant Chain said she admired and
appreciated Huyền for preserving a traditional food of the old Hà Nội.
Phạm
Trọng Thể of Hà Nội’s Hai Bà Trưng District said he was addicted to Huyền’s
seaworm cakes.
“During
the seaworm season, I ask my son to drive the five kilometers from my house to
buy her cakes. All of us love the dish, particularly during winter days.”
Thể
said many of his friends in the northern provinces of Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn
also ask him to send Huyền’s seaworm cakes to them.
Herbalist Nguyễn Văn Hòa of the National Hospital of
Traditional Medicine said seaworm stir-fried with củ niễng (tuberous traditional herb) is very good for the heart. He
said it cools down the body heat and is also a diuretic.
“Seaworm
is also rich in calcium and folic acid, and can help patients with weak
digestion and blood pressure,” Hòa said.
By VNS