Never knew this fish had such a funny name. No one can explain. But let’s put the name aside for now, the important thing is that the fish makes the family meal more delicious. Like the catfish (same family, but red tail, bigger), the fish has a lot of small bones, but in return, the fish meat is fatty, soft and sweet. Unlike some other freshwater fishes, porpoises (including bream) only remove the intestines, clean the gills, cut off the fins and tail. Very quick. Absolutely do not scrape fish scales, because the fish scales are soft, crunchy, strange to eat. In addition, this fish scale should be accidentally crushed, making the fish meat bitter, so the villagers just let it be. Given the job by my mother, my brother and I quickly prepared some unpleasant fish, carefully placing them in a bamboo basket to drain. Mother gently put the basket of fish into the pot to marinate. As the name of the dish is “potato braised”, so my mother never seasoned it too salty, nor sweet. Depending on the taste of each place, each person has a different way of seasoning. But do not add cooking oil or add fat to create a very greasy taste because the nature of the meat and fish head is already fat. To color the broth, you can use coconut-colored water or molasses sugar. Marinate fish for 30 minutes for firm meat. Then, my mother brought it to the stove to cook. Wood stove has the advantage that in addition to saving money on gas, it also has the advantage that the firewood burns evenly and smoldering, so the fish cooks slowly, without having to watch. When the fish water is boiling, evenly absorbed, add one and a half cups of filtered water and cook until the fish is cooked, then season again and then turn off the stove. Do not overcook the fish, it is no longer crispy, but it is crushed. Add finely chopped scallions (or basil) and pepper to enhance the flavor and keep the stomach warm. Mom gently scooped up the broth and fish on a plate. Cut a piece of fresh lemon, mother squeezed it on the fish plate. The special braised dish there, without the sourness of the lemon is missing an important part. The basket of field vegetables picked by the father behind the dike was also placed on the dining table. The rice tray is simple but cozy. Always, after the word “invite the whole family to eat rice”, I quickly pick up the vegetables with chopsticks because I love raw vegetables. Wow, the vegetables, watercress and water need to be rolled up like a spring roll and then put into the chopsticks to dip the broth in the broth. How did the fat, slightly sour, and sweet leopard taste permeate the raw vegetables? Because this fish has many bones, it must be skillful in how to pick it up and know how to eat it to fully enjoy the delicious taste. Use a spoon or chopsticks to push the fish meat horizontally, the meat will drift along each fiber, leaving the fish skeleton intact. After eating this back side, turn over to the back side. Don’t forget to use the fish head, it’s very crunchy (but remember to leave out the two fisheye balls). Putting a piece of rice in my mouth with cod meat, I felt all sorts of flavors in the tip of my tongue – wanting to eat forever even though my stomach was full. Above all, the most delicious taste is the taste of the countryside, the sacred love of a mother for her family.

Before flowing to Loei province – a province located on the Thailand-Laos border, the Mekong River’s water had to flow through dozens of other hydroelectric dams, including 11 of China and one of Laos. South China Morning Post On May 25, citing local people and experts, the hydroelectric dams of China and Laos have affected fish habitats, changing the natural flow with the seasons and even the color of the water. . The impact is becoming more and more obvious Rodjana Thepwong, a 64-year-old woman with a lovely smile, said gold panders in Thailand often wade into the middle of the river during the dry season. “The sediment at the bottom of the river is full of gold. I’ve even found pieces of gold as small as tamarind seeds,” she said, plunging into the river with a pickaxe, brushing away the mud and rocks. “Because of hydroelectric dams, river water rises and falls randomly, making the ecosystem out of balance. We were forced to move to the river’s edge, where there was only a very small amount of gold.” Ms. Rodjana is just one of 60 million people who depend on the Mekong River – the river that flows from China, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before emptying into the delta region of Vietnam. Environmental activists say the diets, livelihoods and environment of these millions have been put in jeopardy since Chinese companies harnessed hydroelectricity. One fine day, these two women were able to find $15 worth of gold. Photo: South China Morning Post. “I realized things were changing, many fish died and the water rose suddenly,” said Chantarasee Hieng, another gold pander. Downstream, experts say, in February, the river suddenly turned blue – a seasonal phenomenon for the first time, indicating that nutrients from silt are gradually disappearing from waterways this. Climate change also plays a role in causing this phenomenon, with heavier rains and prolonged droughts. But both Ms. Rodjana and Hieng insist hydroelectric dams are the main cause of the decline in the quality of the river that was once a source of food and income for many families. “So sad. But what can we do?” Ms. Rodjana said. Hope is forgotten A new dam is scheduled to be built about 2 km from the Chiang Kan district of Loei, the mountainous northeastern province of Thailand. The Sanakham Dam is a $2 billion program with electricity generated for export mainly to Thailand. The dam, built by Chinese company Datang, is expected to generate 684 megawatts of electricity when it comes into operation from 2028. The project is seen as an integral part of its strategy to become “the power source of Southeast Asia. ” of Laos. Gold panders in the Mekong River, Loei province, Thailand. Photo: South China Morning Post. The Mekong River Commission – the commission set up to manage water resources in the Mekong basin, with members Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – says it has only about $28 million (1.4%) total budget) is devoted to measures to reduce harm to the environment and society. Thailand openly opposes the Lao plan. Residents living in this river area are lobbying the government to stop building the dam, along with public debate about the need for electricity generated by hydropower among officials in the country. Tosapol Wongwan, assistant secretary-general, National Water Resources Office of Thailand, said: “What is happening in the Mekong River has reached a point where it cannot be repaired. What we can do right now is focus on how to reduce the impact (human activities on the river).” Not easy to solve Upstream countries – China and Laos – have begun to share data on water flows and herald the closure and release of dams to their downstream neighbors. However, it is difficult to achieve complete transparency among countries with competing strategic, economic and national security needs. Laos owns two dams – the Thai-developed Xayaburi dam in the north and the Don Sahong dam near the Cambodian border. There are also seven other projects being planned. Mekong River near the Thai-Lao border. Photo: Reuters. Critics say it’s difficult to make a transparent assessment of the uses and impacts of dams on the environment. China, which is speeding up dam construction, insists hydroelectricity is an eco-friendly resource to boost the Mekong’s economy. However, according to Songrit Kirk Pongern, an academic researcher on the Mekong River at Thailand’s Kasetsart University, as dam construction continues, the forecast of a negative impact on the river is ominous. “In the next five years, the consequences will become more and more obvious. The number of fish will continue to decline, the downstream will lack alluvium, riverside and local fishing will disappear, food security for 60 million people will be exhausted,” he said.

In the early morning, my aunt sat in front of the yard, her arms fluttering in front of a pile of long, cleverly intertwined threads, thread overlapping the other, strata lay in sagging eyes. Every 4 sag eyes form a square. Then she chooses the firm ropes that are braided into a sturdy hammock. The second head is hammock, the aunt is braided into a small hole, so that when lying down, people are hooked on the female pillar, or hang on the trusses, horizontal beams, vertical beams on the tile roof. Two twins around her mother chirped and laughed. Sometimes they played around and kicked the scattered pillars. Aunty’s mouth screamed not to break, but her hands were still moving along with each sagging eye. I knit for a whole week to get a beautiful hammock, a few months a month, but it doesn’t cost much to sell, so I just have to work to make a profit. Now see, I knit hammock my whole life, I can’t get rich. The hammock, like a part of my aunt’s art, carries in it hope, expectation, and passion for the job, as if wanting to hold back a little bit of gold from a distant past. The hammock is knitted with a cool, sweat-free lying on the hot back. When I was lying in the hammock, I had a habit of turning it over, covering my back, my knees on the sides, and giggling on my back; sometimes take the momentum, swing very hard, bring me up close to the roof of the house. Howling soul. 2. In the afternoon, my mother hangs her hammock outside the summer gable, catches the wind blowing in from the river wharf, and lulls her into a baby’s sleep: Newly sewn silk clothes box / Yesterday (but ) I just wore this meal (then oh) / I lost it / Because mom (but) made a wide-sleeved shirt / I forgot (but) pressed the button (oh yeah) the wind blew (pray) down the bridge / Ah oh oh mya oh … Oh my dear, my mother sings on the background of the sky, the sun surrounded the field, the green, the curves of the Dinh River are smooth and smooth, flowing through the lives of grandparents, parents, through childhood. my own quiet but sad. The lyrics of the chants sounded fragrant with the aroma of rice, baked sesame rice paper, the scent of straw root scorched far away, the rich coconut water in the beef cake, the fish sauce that pounded with a little chili garlic to eat raw With the young mother, listening to the flock of birds calling her flock when tired to fly to the deep forest to find a place to sleep, like the sound of drums urging soldiers of the ages to go to battle, like the sound of a pestle pounding hard against each mortar to pound nem chua … 3. In modern times, the house is cast in reinforced concrete, where there are no beds, columns, rafters, longitudinal beams, horizontal beams on the tiled roof to hook the two ends of the hammock and then lie down to sleep. People bought Duy Loi stacking hammocks, which were neatly placed close to the ground. Naughty children are also not afraid of falling to the ground or throwing eraser up to the roof of the house in giggles. Aunt Pham poured debts, leaving the village to go missing and not returning. Everywhere, my aunt’s family led me to live on a plateau with immense red soil, and to earn a living to get out of poverty. My 2 daughters must now be holding their hands in their arms. The craft of knitting hammocks in Vinh Phu village has also disappeared ever since. No one wants to do it because of the effort spent too much but the profit is not much. The hammock she bought from my aunt in the past is now lying in the corner. No longer red, but please be dull, silver, termites are full of patchy mites. Hand touching, seeming a little bit of warmth from any year, the smell of perspiration is still on each thread. This afternoon, I suddenly wanted to lie in a hammock, then heard someone singing a sweet voice. Mum passed away, no one would sing to listen even if she listened. Nguyen Huu Tai

If you want delicious boiled potatoes and ripen, you should choose medium-sized, even tubers, not to have large tubers – baby will help your potato to have tubers that are ripe first, bulbs are soft, and hard.

Illustration.

Choose potatoes that are still soil-stained, the soil is not too dry, the better. Usually potatoes with a lot of sandy soil (usually grown near river banks, with a lot of alluvium) are “genuine” sweet potatoes.

Choose potatoes that are elongated or round, and lightly squeeze to see that the tubers are not too hard. Potatoes like this will be more flour, eat less fiber and very sweet.

The tuber inside the flesh is firm and not fibrous, no tubers are devastated, there is a place called phoenix, which means the potato shows signs of sprouting or absorbing water.

2. Materials need to prepare:

• 1 kg sweet potato, medium tubers.

• Country.

• A little salt.

Perform:

• Sweet potatoes purchased and soaked in water to remove dust outside. Rinse, place the potatoes in a saucepan and add about ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover the potatoes with water.

• Boil until the water boils, continue to boil for another 15 minutes. Use chopsticks to test the sweet potato, if the chopsticks can skew easily, the potato is done.

• Drain the water, heat for a few more minutes to slightly scorch the potatoes. This is one of the great cooking tips, helping to make the sweet potato lumpy and fragrant.

Wish you success with the delicious potato boiling method shared above!