“At this time, in addition to the fresh lotus seeds in Hue, which are in season, the ponds and lotus ponds in the countryside also begin to harvest seeds. If fresh lotus seeds in Hue cost 170,000-190,000 VND/kg, the original lotus seeds cost only 100,000-120,000 VND/kg. The lotus seeds from the countryside are as fragrant and fragrant as the Hue lotus seeds,” said Tran Thi Hanh, a small trader selling fresh lotus seeds at Vo market, Ha Dong. Because it is the fresh lotus seed at the beginning of the season, it is sold during the epidemic season, so this year, the price of fresh lotus seeds at the toad markets is quite soft, attracting many housewives to order. “At the beginning of the season, the price of fresh lotus seeds is still high. A little more lotus at the end of the tool, the price of lotus seeds will decrease to 80,000-90,000 VND/kg. That’s why many housewives buy fresh seeds from the countryside to make lotus tea, nut milk or leave sticky rice, cook tea to cool down,” said Hanh. Because many people like to eat, fresh lotus seeds at the beginning of the season are quite popular. Buyers buy at least 1kg, many buy 5-7kg and put them in the refrigerator to eat gradually. According to Ms. Hanh, there are many ways to preserve lotus seeds to eat year-round and still be delicious, but you can follow these 4 ways to store lotus seeds until the next season. Dried lotus seeds Hanh said, there is a simple way to store fresh lotus seeds to eat all year round, which is fresh lotus seeds that do not need to be washed after being purchased. Just peel off the shell, get the white lotus seed kernel. Use a toothpick to take the lotus heart. “Next, bring the lotus seeds to dry in the sun 3-5 times (or dry) until dry, then store them in a jar with a tight lid. From time to time, during use, you can bring lotus seeds to dry in the sun to avoid mold, “Ms. Hanh said. Frozen fresh lotus seeds When buying fresh lotus seeds, the housewife does not wash but peels off the seed shell, takes the white lotus seed kernel and uses a toothpick to get the lotus heart. After that, divide the purchased lotus seeds into small pieces, store them in plastic boxes, plastic bags or put them in vacuum bags and then put them in the freezer for later use. The easiest way is to freeze fresh lotus seeds in the freezer compartment As for the refrigerator, it can only be for about 10 days when the lotus begins to darken. Every time you take out the lotus seeds to use, take each box or bag, gradually defrost and cover with boiling water. Then cook normally. Lotus seeds are still pure white even when stored in the freezer. Steam fresh lotus seeds and put them in the freezer There is another way to preserve fresh lotus seeds that many housewives have recently suggested is to steam them and then freeze them to eat gradually. “Many housewives who buy their own lotus seeds think that if fresh lotus seeds are stored in the refrigerator for a few days, they will become dull, and the seeds will decrease in sweetness. As for fresh, but frozen, sometimes it is still mixed with rough seeds, not delicious. But if steamed, it’s 100% fleshy, white, fragrant, not dull, very convenient because when you need to eat tea, it cooks very quickly,” this person shared. Specifically, prepare a pot of water and steam the lotus seeds above, until the lotus is ripe. Do not stir while the lotus is still hot to avoid crushing the seeds. Wait for the lotus seeds to cool completely, then put them in a freezer box. This way can be stored for several months to a year. When you need to cook lotus leaf rice, lotus seed tea, longan tea, … just cook other ingredients and then add lotus and it will still be soft, fleshy, and fragrant like fresh lotus. More sophisticated, you can steam lotus seeds before freezing Soak in dilute salt water, then quickly bare and freeze According to Ms. Hanh, there is a way to store fresh lotus seeds to eat all year round, which is applied by many people, which is to buy fresh lotus seeds and wash them twice. Then, soak in diluted salt water for 10 minutes, then take out and wash again. Bring the water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt. Then put the lotus seeds in the ceiling for 3 minutes. Keep a basin of very cold ice water ready to take out the lotus, then put it in a bowl of ice water to soak for 10 minutes. At this time, remove the lotus seeds to a basket to freeze. Doing this, the whole year in the lotus seed cabinet does not darken. When cooked, it still has a fragrant lotus scent. The lotus seller affirms that preserving fresh lotus seeds by the above methods can keep lotuses all year round. There are opinions reflecting that fresh lotus seeds are frozen to freeze, but according to Ms. Hanh, whether or not the lotus is shy is due to the lotus variety and lotus soil, not the way it is preserved. “Even if the fresh lotus is frozen in the freezer, it’s okay, boiled it is still beautiful and delicious like a fresh lotus,” she shared. In addition, Ms. Hanh also noted, when buying fresh lotus seeds to store food all year round, housewives should buy old, round lotus seeds, do not choose long, cracked seeds. These lotus seeds are usually delicious, not shy, fragrant, very sweet and chewy.

According to Ms. Ha, a small trader at the 365 wholesale market, she usually sells vegetables every day. About a week ago, she started trading young crocodiles for sale. Due to the beginning of the season, the number of crocodiles purchased is not much, only 10-20 kg/day. These are young, small and sour, slightly acrid, but due to the scarcity of crocodiles, many housewives buy 1-2kg to eat. Crocodiles at the beginning of the season begin to be sold Crocodile price is only 40,000 VND/kg, much cheaper than last year’s price “Last year, I sold crocodiles at the beginning of the season for 60,000 VND/kg. But this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the price of crocodiles also decreased much, only 40,000 VND / kg. These are young crocodiles, which I bought from families in My Duc, Chuong My, Ung Hoa, “said Ms. Ha. Ms. Ha said that although young crocodiles at the beginning of the season are sour and a bit acrid, many guests especially like them. In addition to cooking sour soup, soaked in boiled water spinach, many housewives who love snacks also like young crocodiles with sugar or soaked in fish sauce. This small trader shared, in about a month, crocodiles in the North will enter the main crop. At that time, the crocodile was bigger and firmer, and thicker. The price of crocodiles when in the main season also halved, only about 20,000 VND/kg. Currently, this small trader also said that every day she sells crocodiles at the beginning of the season about 20kg. There were days when customers asked to buy more, but she did not have anything to sell. Talking about the experience of choosing to buy fresh and delicious crocodiles at the beginning of the season, Ms. Ha said: “The first 10 crocodiles in the season are almost 10, no need to carefully choose each one, they are still delicious. Buyers only need to choose large fruits with slightly lumpy skin and thick pulp to get a lot of sour meat. Avoid choosing fruits with dark skin, bruised and shiny skin because they are too young and can’t be kept for a long time. Preparing to harvest crocodiles Mrs. Do Thi Hue, a housewife in Ha Tri 1, Ha Dong, Hanoi today went to market 365 and also chose to buy 1kg of crocodile at the beginning of the season. Mrs. Hue said, her whole family liked the sour taste of crocodile more than lemon and tamarind. Because the frozen crocodile stock had just ended last week, today when I went to the market, I saw that there was a sale of alligators at the beginning of the season, she rushed to buy 1kg for 40,000 VND. “The first crocodiles in the season are mainly young crocodiles and alligators, so you can buy sour fish soup or boiled water spinach soup to get a very delicious and refreshing bowl of soup. My grandson likes to eat young crocodile with fish sauce. Therefore, I bought 1kg to eat, bought it all over again. Because young crocodiles at the beginning of the season don’t last long, they get damaged quickly,” Hue said. This housewife in Ha Dong also said that from now until the end of the crocodile season, her house still has to buy many more times. Especially near the end of the season, when the crocodile is in the period of the cake, has the most meat and the most acidity, she often buys 10 kg of crocodile to shave off the shell, wash it, then let it drain and put it in the freezer cold gradually. “With this method, my family has crocodiles to eat all year round. In addition, I also soaked a few pots of crocodile water for the whole family to drink in the summer. Or at the end of the ripe crocodile season, I take advantage of making the crocodile shell to eat gradually. It is very convenient and delicious to eat crocodiles any way,” commented Ms. Hue. From mid-May, early season crocodiles are also sold by many small traders on the online market at the price of 35,000-40,000 VND/kg. The topic of selling alligators is also very popular, a lot of housewives come in to inquire and order.

Hien said that these were completely fresh rock crabs that her family members moved from her hometown in Nam Dinh to Hanoi for weekly sales. These crabs are carefully selected by her family members from her hometown, filtered and cleaned and then canned. Each box is usually packed 2.5 ounces. This small trader also advertised: “Although this is a cultured stone crab, the house was cleaned, separated from shells, split bibs, star fruit bags, especially no additives, no preservatives, no mixing with rice bran and self. canned grinds should eat well and lots of meat and bricks are delicious. Each 1 kg of rock crabs my family sells for 75,000 VND, divided into 4 boxes. Each box includes 1 bag of crab bricks. If you eat 2 kg of crab or more, you will ship for free ”. The field crabs are torn, washed and ground right at the market Ms. Hien also affirmed that the crabs are very delicious and can be kept in the freezer for 12 months. When eaten, the quality is no different from raw ground crab. “Frozen ground crab is easy to process, convenient and has a stable price. This type of crab can help housewives process many delicious dishes such as crab soup cooked in a hot pot or cooked with a variety of vegetables depending on the season and preferences of each family ”. According to her, customers who buy frozen crabs are mainly housewives in the city. They usually order at least 1kg to cook a crab dish on rice or eat with vermicelli, with thinly molded cakes. Along with rock crabs she sells frozen field crabs, up to tens of kilograms per day. On hot hot days, the number of sales she sells is 3 times higher than normal days and she does not sell crabs. Explaining why the price of crab is at least half cheaper than the market, Ms. Hien explained: “Crab is collected from farmers in the countryside, and my family does not have live crabs available. Besides the crab season, there is an outbreak of Covid-19, so it is cheap. Like last year, we have to sell ready-made crabs of 100,000 VND / kg ”. However, many small traders on the internet market sell frozen rock crabs, pre-ground frozen field crabs at low prices, startling However, according to a reporter survey, the price of pre-ground copper crabs is for sale online at a price that is 1/2 to 2/3 cheaper than the actual selling price in toad markets. For example, at Ha Dong toad markets, Tan Da market, Vo market, Van Phuc market (Ha Dong, Hanoi) on May 9, the price of 1kg of live crab is sold at 170,000-190,000 VND. At wholesale market 365, live crab with the lowest price is 150,000 VND / kg. Bringing this question to Ms. Tran Thi Phuong, 46 years old, a small trader specializing in selling crabs in Ha Dong market, she affirmed: “There has never been a story of live crabs selling for less than 150,000 VND / kg. Because, to have 1kg of pre-ground crab clean, you need to buy 1.3-1.4kg of raw crab. Thus, the crab price must also be calculated from 200,000-230,000 VND / kg “. “On the internet market, small traders keep advertising frozen crabs, frozen ready-made copper crabs but only cost 75,000-80,000 VND / kg, making sure that they are not genuine crabs, much less crabs. live fresh, “she stressed. Meanwhile, the price of live crab at the market is twice as expensive Many people suspect that it could be a western crab or crab imported from Cambodia, Thailand (illustration). Ms. Phuong also revealed that the frozen copper crabs, frozen pre-ground crabs are being sold at cheap prices on the internet market, most likely that the crabs with broken legs, broken legs, sick, peeled, leave bibs only to keep. The meat is then grinded. Or that is the western type crab or the ground crab imported from Cambodia. Because only these two types of crabs can be sold for a very “soft” price, only 60,000-70,000 VND / kg. The trader also warned that he has just entered the heat wave in the early summer, but there are many types of crabs sold in the market. However, not all sellers guarantee good quality at affordable prices. In fact, many small traders for profit try to import Western copper crabs or imported copper crabs with genuine copper crabs. Therefore, consumers should not be too greedy for cheap but be trapped. “In general, it’s money. Cheap crab will not be a standard crab and ensure quality. Not to mention wanting to eat delicious crab soup, housewives never buy packaged or canned frozen crabs. Because it is convenient, but the quality is not guaranteed and there are many potential risks of poisoning because it is not known how long these crab boxes are kept in the refrigerator. The seller himself may not know if the crab has been thoroughly washed and removed the dead crab before grinding ”, noted Ms. Phuong.

Ms. Huong, a small trader selling floating cake flour, longtime vegetarian cakes in Ha Dong market, shared that she often sells spring rolls and chicken cereal every day. But on occasions such as the full moon of January, the Han Thuc New Year, her family took advantage of selling floating dough and fresh vegetarian cakes. “My house has been sold here for many years, so it has a certain number of patrons. Moreover, Ha Dong market is a central market, with a lot of people around here, so every afternoon comes a crowded market. Not to mention, on the 3rd March of the lunar calendar, most families still keep the custom of making floating cakes and vegetarian cakes to make offerings to their ancestors. Because of that, my house is always full of customers these days, ”Ms. Huong said. In the evening before the real Korean New Year, people still take advantage of buying flour to make floating cakes, vegetarian cakes. (Photo: Thao Nguyen) Many people remain loyal to the traditional white sticky rice powder. (Photo: Thao Nguyen) Thanks to that, many small businesses can sell even weights on this Tet holiday. (Photo: Thao Nguyen) This small trader said that the vegetarian cake dough is made entirely from fresh glutinous rice flour. In addition, Ms. Huong also sells other ingredients such as sugar filling, green bean paste, sesame seeds, grated coconut … Customers who buy just shape as they like, then bring the boiled dough to have a plate of cake. drifting, delicious vegetarian cake. Ms. Huong confided that a day earlier, and on the Han Thuc New Year, every day, her family sold about 2 quintals of flour to make floating cakes and vegetarian cakes. “On the 1st, my family sold 1 quintal of flour, on the second day, we sold 2 quintals. On the 3rd, my family plans to sell 2 more quintals of flour. This year, the 3rd March of the lunar calendar falls on a weekday, everyone still has to go to work. But because baking is very fast, the ingredients are simple and complete, so most families still buy flour to make incense in the early morning or evening, ”she said. In addition to selling floating cake flour and perennial vegetarian cakes at Ha Dong market, Ms. Huong’s family also sells ready-made sticky rice and chicken offerings to serve the needs of customers. So on this occasion, to serve customers quickly, she had to mobilize the whole family to sell goods so that customers did not have to wait long. Although there are no stalls to sell like Ms. Huong, but Ms. Le Thi Nghi, another small merchant, always sells floating cakes and vegetarian cakes at a corner of Ha Dong market. In addition to glutinous rice flour, housewives often buy more sugar, coconut, sesame seeds, … (Photo: Thao Nguyen) These are indispensable ingredients when making floating cakes, vegetarian cakes. (Photo: Thao Nguyen) Ms. Nghi shared that, although she does not sell regular goods at the market, every year she also sells floating cake flour and vegetarian cakes. Although nowadays, there are many eye-catching types of floating five-color floating cakes, floating cakes with funny shapes, but the floating dough and traditional white vegetarian cakes are still popular with many people. She explained, many customers are still afraid that the five-color powder available at online stores contains color products, which do not ensure food safety and hygiene and are difficult to control the origin. Therefore, customers in local markets still like to buy the traditional white vegetarian pastry pastry flour. A kilogram of white floating cake flour in Ha Dong market is currently priced at 35,000 VND. If customers want to buy more sugar cane, sesame, fresh coconut, green bean paste, vegetarian cake cooking water, depending on their needs, they will have to pay about 15,000-30,000 VND more to have enough ingredients to make floating cakes. Ms. Hoang Thi Van from Le Hong Phong (Ha Dong, Hanoi) this afternoon, coming home from work, went to Ha Dong market to buy 2kg of flour for making floating cakes, and vegetarian cakes to worship the Han Thuc Tet holiday. “I bought 2 kg of fresh white sticky rice powder for 70,000 VND and another 30,000 VND to buy some sugar cane, sesame, fresh coconut, green bean paste. I put the glutinous dough in the fridge and soon tomorrow, all I have to do is get up and squeeze it and boil it. Due to the early morning of the 3rd March of the lunar calendar, the market was very crowded, so she took the opportunity to buy it right from the evening before. This year, although the vegetarian cake flour market has many designs and colors, Ms. Van is still loyal to the traditional white dough of a longtime cake stall to ensure food safety.