Long An specialties ready for Tet market

Duc Hoa peanuts - a meaningful gift

These days, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Nguyen's Hoang Chuong peanut factory (Tan My commune, Duc Hoa district, Long An province) is operating at full capacity for the Tet market. Currently, the establishment has 3 products including peanut candies, shelled roasted peanuts and roasted peanuts with fish sauce, garlic, and chili.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Nguyen and her husband have more than 10 years of experience making peanuts

The time to produce peanuts for the Tet market starts from mid-November to mid-January of the lunar calendar. On this occasion, shelled roasted peanuts and roasted peanuts with fish sauce, garlic, and chili are the best-selling products. Depending on the quantity and requirements of the customer, each product has a different price. The peanut candy has a wholesale price of 20,000 - 25,000 VND/pack, while the roasted peanuts with fish sauce, garlic and chili are priced from 22,000 - 30,000 VND/jar.

“On this occasion, the amount of consumption increased by 3-4 times compared to normal months. However, compared to every year at this time, the number decreased. Currently, on average, the facility produces about 50kg of peanuts per day, this number is expected to increase in the coming days. We have prepared all the best conditions to serve the Tet market,” said Ms. Nguyen.

Thanks to the favor of nature, Duc Hoa peanuts taste better than peanuts grown in other regions

In more than 10 years of producing peanuts, Ms. Nguyen faced many difficulties. Initially, the product was not diversified, the number of customers was not much. After that, she taught herself to create products like today. In the digital age, she introduces her products to consumers via social networks; sells her products on e-commerce platforms. Up to now, Hoang Chuong's products are increasingly popular with customers.

Thanks to the favor of nature, Duc Hoa peanuts taste better than peanuts grown in other regions. With acumen and creativity, local people have created many attractive dishes from peanuts that are loved by consumers.

Busy making rice papers for Tet

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hue (Nhon Hoa 1 neighborhood, ward 5, Tan An city) shared: “I make rice paper according to the traditional recipe of rice, water and salt. The rice paper is made from 100% rice without adding flour to make it more flexible and delicious. To create the current recipe, it took me many months of research and used about 1 ton of rice for testing.”

Every day, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hue's rice paper factory (Nhon Hoa 1 neighborhood, ward 5, Tan An city) provides 5,000 rice papers to the market

Ms. Hue's factory produces rice papers by machine, with about 5,000 pieces per day. Every day, from 7-11 o'clock, people start to coat the rice papers. Once the rice papers are finished, they are immediately dried in the sun. Depending on the high or low temperature, people dry them for 30-60 minutes; in the evening or early morning, they will be dried under the dew for 10 minutes. If the rice papers are exposed to the sun for too long, they will become crispy; and if they are exposed to frost for too long, they will be mushy.

According to Ms. Hue, the retail price is 40,000 VND/stack (50 rice papers/stack). From mid-December of the lunar calendar to the first day of the Lunar New Year, her facility operates at full capacity, even on Sundays. The amount of rice paper consumed increased 3 times compared to the normal time.

The traditional village of making rice paper in Ward 5, Tan An City has existed for a long time. Besides the manual process, some households have invested in machines to make rice papers. Regardless of the method, they all contribute to building a brand for Long An rice paper.

Variety of specialties of Chau Thanh

In recent years, yellow dragon fruit has been chosen by many people to decorate Tet. At the beginning of the 10th lunar month, Mr. Nguyen Minh Xuan (Vinh Cong commune, Chau Thanh district) combined 10 other gardeners to illuminate 2 hectares of yellow dragon fruit for the Tet market. The linkage in production makes it easy to consume agricultural products. After 2.5-3 months of being illuminated, it is possible to harvest. Annually, the price of golden dragon fruit ranges from 50,000-60,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Xuan and the ornamental dragon fruit tower

Besides, Mr. Xuan also makes ornamental dragon fruit to decorate on Tet holiday. He shared: “In recent years, ornamental dragon fruit has been loved by many people because it symbolizes prosperity. To make the ornamental dragon fruit, I have to watch the day for dragon fruit from the time it's still on the tree. Around December 19, 20 of the lunar calendar, I choose dragon fruit branches with beautiful fruit for grafting. Before that, I prepared pots, made a frame for the tower, the ornamental dragon fruit can be used for decoration from 15-20 days.

The numbers symbolizing luck and fortune such as 39, 79, 68, 86, 139, and so on are often chosen to make the dragon fruit tower. A pot of 9 fruits costs from 240,000 - 250,000 VND, a pot of 139 fruits costs from VND 5 - 8 million, the price of each pot depends on the number of dragon fruits. Mr. Xuan's customers are mainly traders in the North and Central, some in Long An and Ho Chi Minh City; his patrons have been ordering since November of the lunar calendar.

Mrs. Le Thi Hue and her husband are packing the products

Besides dragon fruit, Chau Thanh district is also known for its specialty pork sausages and grilled rolls of Kim Hue facility (Tam Vu town) of Ms. Le Thi Hue. Currently, these two products are recognized as 3-star provincial OCOP products. This is an heirloom of Mrs. Hue's family for over 70 years.

Ms. Hue said: “In the past, my mother sold sausages and spring rolls and passed the job to me. The recipe for making grilled spring rolls was researched by me. Every year, in the lunar December, the facility prepares products for the Tet market, making 300-400kg of sausages every day. Customers often buy sausages as gifts from the 15th to 20th of the 12th lunar month. Grilled spring rolls are consumed a lot from the 25th day of the 12th lunar month to the 3rd day of the first lunar month. Sausages and grilled spring rolls that are vacuum-sealed are priced at 260,000 VND/kg, if not vacuumed, they cost 250,000 VND/kg. Instead of doing it manually, now I use machines in some stages.”

According to Ms. Hue, each product is a combination of fresh ingredients, ensuring food safety. Besides taste, quality is an important factor to retain customers. At the same time, instead of using commercially available wine, she uses heirloom aromatic wine to marinate sausages. The wine is soaked according to its own recipe for 3-4 months before using.

Every Tet holiday, the province's specialties such as dragon fruit, sausage, peanuts, rice paper, snow-flaked cake, etc. are favored by many consumers, contributing to increasing product consumption and improving people's income./.

By Hoai An - Translated by P.Ngan

Source: https://baolongan.vn/dac-san-long-an-s-n-sang-don-tet-a147290.html