U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest is adjacent to U Minh Thuong Melaleuca forest (Kien Giang province), with a total area of ​​about 35,000 ha. Of which, 8,256 hectares are recognized as U Minh Ha National Park. Set up the turtle catcher of the forest dwellers. Photo: Huynh Lam This place has a melaleuca forest ecosystem that is flooded for 6 months and dry for 6 months. U Minh Ha National Park is one of the three core zones of the Ca Mau Cape World Biosphere Reserve with the task of preserving and recreating the values ​​of the natural landscape, ecological environment and biodiversity of the country. typical wetland ecosystem, Melaleuca forest on peat land; conservation and development of genetic resources of precious plants and animals, cultural and spiritual values, historical relics, serving scientific research, sightseeing and tourism development. Jogging under the canopy of the melaleuca forest. Photo: Thanh Dung U Minh Ha forest with Melaleuca trees dominates absolutely. There are many species of animals such as deer, wild boar, monkey, python, snake, turtle, bamboo (pangolin)… and there are 60 species of freshwater fish and brackish water fish live. Bee hive. Photo: Tan Diep In particular, under the forest canopy, year round bees diligently collect honey from the pistils of Melaleuca flowers to build nests, annually for large production. In the bee-eating season, visitors will be able to follow the beekeepers of Phong Ngan Group to go to the forest to eat bees and collect honey. Here, visitors can enjoy the dish of young bees that have just been cut down, dotted with a little honey of the scent of U Minh Melaleuca forest, sweet to the tip of the tongue. You can buy pure honey from U Minh Melaleuca forest to make medicine, or as a gift for relatives. Harvesting tubs in U Minh area. Photo: Hoang Giang Lake After the trip through the forest, visitors can watch slapping or spread nets by themselves, fishing, picking wild vegetables, plucking water lily … enjoy many specialties of the land of U Minh Melaleuca forests that few places have. such as grilled snakehead fish, perch cooked in hot pot with fish sauce, eel with noni leaves, cobra with green bean porridge, lemongrass stew or grilled extract, fried hamsters and many other rustic dishes. Golden Turtle – A specialty of U Minh Melaleuca forest. Photo: Huynh Lam Coming to U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest, visitors can visit Uncle Ba Phi’s hometown. At night, visitors can participate in folk music, go fishing, dump, catch field mice or spread bird nets in the U Minh forest. https://dulich.petrotimes.vn/

Both me and the West like it There is no specific statistic from the authorities or the local authorities of the western provinces that each year, from the resources … the hamster, how much money people make. In fact, passing through many western provinces and cities, especially areas with large areas of rice, sugarcane, pineapple (fragrant), cajuput, … large like Can Tho, An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap. , Hau Giang, Long An, wherever we go, we also see the shop’s label selling “specialty” processed from hamsters. And, in daily life, the dish is processed from hamsters (Ben Tre, Tra Vinh also has coconut mouse, hamster), for a long time it has been a familiar dish in the meal, even at home. There were parties, guests, this specialty was brought to the top of the party. Grilled hamster is a favorite dish not only for us but also for Western guests. Photo: ĐSA. Not long ago, I returned to the Red Flag (Can Tho) and met Mr. Huynh Van Hoang (known as Hoang “the army”). His house is next to the People’s Committee of Co Do town. Unlike a few times before, with his forte dish he cooked the best (salt-fried lemongrass mouse), this time, he treated me to … dried rat. Seeing the rats that had been cleaned, seasoned, and dried for 2-3 consecutive days by him, we found it intriguing. When he put it on the hot charcoal stove, and then the scent of the rat’s flesh spread across the neighborhood, we just looked quickly until we were seated at the table. The landlord directly chops the raw mango, picks the herb leaves, then rips the mouse meat by himself, … In fact, for many people in the West, hamsters can be processed into many delicious dishes that cannot compare to anything else. When we returned to the Hong Ngu border area (Dong Thap) in the fourth lunar month, we learned that it was the time of the most delicious rat meat. Local people explain that due to the preparation for the rainy season, the weather is warm, fresh, the plants are green and sprouted many young shoots … Enjoy the “lucky” so the hamsters are fat this season, freshly baked, the fat flows down the sizzling coal, fragrant. At that time, we also went to the back of the water gantry, directly participating in the rat-making process. Unlike dry food, freshly baked rats do not need to be seasoned with any spices other than a little garlic and a little fish sauce. The rats were clamped on fresh bamboo branches, split in half and then put on a charcoal fire. We have eaten many times of the grilled coconut mouse and hamster, but that time, we still had to blurt out because of the sweet and fragrant taste in each mouse meat … The special thing is when I asked the dipping sauce for this rustic delicacy, the owner, a farmer over 80 years old, ran to the back of the kitchen, and later brought up a plate of pure copper fish sauce. As I ate, the host couple enthusiastically showed me how to prepare a variety of delicious dishes from hamsters, which are store of laksa leaves, boiled wort (with wine), boiled batch, sautéed leaves, stir-fried onions, stir-fried vegetables. , beware of coconut water, roast, roast, roast satay and steamed rice dishes … When I got back to Cao Lanh city, my colleague also let me enjoy the “pearl pearl” (part of the genitals of male mice) sautéed the palanquin and said that it belonged to “he ate, she praised”. Because it can be processed into so many delicious dishes, for a long time, people have … “honored” rat meat with squirrel meat. Many people call this fun “squirrel copper” also because of that. In Phung Hiep (Hau Giang) and Thanh Hoa (Long An), every day, tons of hamsters are loaded into trucks and transported to Ho Chi Minh City. There is a very special thing is that Western guests also love rat meat. Many times I endlessly witness “foreign visitors” tearing roasted hamsters, eating deliciously is like tearing grilled chicken. An Giang Provincial People’s Committee leader said, when he came to An Giang for a survey early last year, Mr. Jan Zahradil, Vice Chairman of the European Parliament’s International Trade Commission (INTA), Chairman of the Friendship Parliamentary Group European Institutes (EP) and Vietnam, surprised him and many of the members of the delegation with the grace of having lunch with a meat dish “squirrel”. Proposal was met immediately. That day, in addition to specialties such as sesame fish sauce, cotton fish cooked sour soup – braised fish, deep fried fish, … the table also added 3 dishes from the hamster, which is a dish. Rats roast, fresh grilled mice and sauteed rats. And that day, this Western guest was only eating mouse dishes. He said many times to Vietnam, eating many delicious dishes but did not have the conditions to enjoy the hamster dish. Many of his friends, including the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly XIII Nguyen Van Giau said “if you go to the West, you must try once to tell”. Finished dinner that day, Mr. Jan Zahradil kept whining and said “very gossipy”. The plan achieves two goals Returning to the story of spending billions of money to fight mice, after the press reports, the leaders of the People’s Committee of Can Tho city explained that it was a story related to the implementation of a directive of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Development. village. Based on the fact, Can Tho develops a plan to prevent and control plant infestation for the period 2021-2025. Specifically, in terms of rice crops from 2016 to 2020, 19,415 hectares of rice were damaged by rats. Can Tho’s plan is … if rats damage 5% of the production area, in the next 5 years, the total amount expected to be spent to support the people in coping with the epidemic is over 29.6 billion VND. And if the actual damage is like that, the proposed capital of the local budget is more than 22.5 billion dong, the remaining 7 billion dong, people “bear”. Traders come to Thanh Hoa district, Long An province, weigh the mouse to load them into a truck and transport them to Ho Chi Minh City. With this money, Can Tho is expected to organize more than 1,500 training courses, support 112,500 traps for farmers to control rats and 5,625 kg of bio-drugs. “The reality will depend on the situation each year. If this year, the prevention of rats is good, the following year will surely reduce the damage of rats. The detailed cost estimate plan was appraised and submitted to the authority to arrange the implementation in accordance with the regulations, but Can Tho was not available nearly 30 billion VND for prevention and control, ”said Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Summer, the person signed to issue the above plan. To make the public understand more about this plan, the Can Tho Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection explained that unlike pests and diseases, it only causes a decrease in yield, but if it is destroyed by rats, rice is often bitten off the base. , almost complete damage. “If based on the scenario of 11,200 ha of rice severely damaged by 50% of the area and 50% of the yield by the rat, it is estimated that 5,600 ha of rice would be damaged. With this area, if the rice yield is 7 tons / ha, there will be 39,200 tons of rice. And a loss of 50% in yield would result in a loss of 19,600 tons of rice. Calculated at the average selling price of 6,000 VND / kg, the number of damage is over 117 billion VND ”, this officer gave a calculation and also said that the weather factor was very favorable for mice to reproduce. A pair of parental mice after a year can produce 2,064 (?). Concerned about the fight against “copper squirrel”, many people, including agricultural experts, have different opinions. Professor Vo Tong Xuan, Rector of South Can Tho University, said the plan to spend nearly 30 billion dong to kill rats is too much money. “Using biological drugs to kill rats is not sure that this drug is not toxic and does not affect the environment. When sprayed, bio-drugs follow the water line, especially in the rainy season, it will spread to many places. As for the mouse trap, the State subsidizes it, whether the people will preserve it well, ”said Professor Vo Tong Xuan. The above plan to kill rats is budget-consuming but not likely to bring about high results, while farmers have many initiatives and tools to kill rats and take responsibility for their own fields. “These things, let the farmers take care of them. Every farmer is responsible, the rat bites his field so that the State takes care ”, Professor Vo Tong Xuan said and cited in the past time, pests and diseases in rice, farmers also actively sprayed. . Regarding community mousetrap (also known as plant traps), Professor Vo Tong Xuan concurred with the involvement of government officials. However, this method is only done when rats have high densities, potentially causing much harm. Professor Vo Tong Xuan also described the community mousetrap model, that is, on a rice field, functional departments rent about 500m² of paddy fields in the middle of the field, lure rats in, then catch and sell. With this approach, a commune in the key rice growing area of ​​the West can make 2-3 community mouse traps. The proceeds from the sale of rats can compensate for the rent of the paddy field. Professor Vo Tong Xuan said that in Son Kien commune, Hon Dat district, Kien Giang province, there was a farmer who worked as a community mouse trap model and brought about economic efficiency. On the sidelines of a recent conference held in Can Tho, Mr. Le Van Thiet, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that killing rats or any other object should use total measures. In addition, in addition to manual methods (using traps, baits), the most effective method is to trap community because this method can kill rats on an area of ​​up to 100 ha. According to Professor Vo Tong Xuan, in the first phase, the locality can experiment with the model of the Australian community mouse trap that has announced by the International Rice Research Institute. Since then, to see if luring mice into traps is effective or not, if seeing results, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should widely disseminate them.

Culinary style “be sure every season” When it comes to the South, people often think of the phrase “ fish in the river, vegetables on the bank “. Thanks to the endowment of nature, each season here has its own specialties. The first season fish is young, the meat is soft and sweet, almost no bones. The flower is also in bloom, golden and crunchy. Combining the sweetness from the lingzhi fish and the sour taste of the crazy cotton to create the delicious soup, the delicious crazy fish hotpot that can not be found anywhere else. The best hamster is in the harvest season. When the rice in the field is ripe and the food source is plentiful, the field mice also become fatter. This dish is grilled to golden brown, the skin is crispy and chewy and the meat is fragrant. When eating, people often sip with rice wine and listen to a few fairy tales, thus becoming a enjoyment of the West and Southeast. Cuisine shows the rustic and rustic Southern dishes also bear the imprint of their ancestors from the ancient times, the ancient times of the beginning of the world. If they catch anything, they will prepare the dish on the spot. This is a rustic and rustic feature in Southern culinary culture. There can be typical dishes such as: grilled duck, fish sauce, grilled chicken, grilled fish, grilled snake, … combined with available wild vegetables, easy to find such as lotus buds, water lilies, crazy dictionary, … Southerners are cool, natural in the way they enjoy the food. They can serve and dine on the floor. But when there are guests coming to play, they still show their solemnity to show their hospitality. Combining diverse regions Besides the rustic dishes that attract diners, Southern cuisine also makes people excited by the blending of many different cuisines. Southern cuisine is the combination of northern and central culinary culture and the influence of Khmer culture. Southern Pho is served with sweet sauce (black sauce), red chili sauce, lemon, fresh chili, cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, thin sliced ​​onions. The soup is usually not as clear as the northern pho but has a slightly cloudy color, sweeter, and fatter taste. Southern tea dishes are also very rich. In addition to receiving all kinds of tea from different regions, tea of ​​the people of the South also has more creative dishes such as sweet potato tea, banana tea, Ba Ba tea … served with coconut milk. For the southerners in general or Saigon in particular, coconut milk is just an auxiliary ingredient, but has created an appeal for many dishes. Typical sweetness in dishes Northern cuisine has a richness, Central is the pungent flavor of chili. And the sweetness is a typical spice tasting in many Southern dishes. Thanks to inheriting, promoting and continuously discovering and creating, Southern cuisine is increasingly plentiful and diversified, contributing to enriching the national culture.

According to an owner specializing in selling rats and snakes in Hung Hoi commune (Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province), the largest hamster (4-5 heads / kg) is currently priced at 70,000 VND / kg (on-site). According to Nguyen Thi Muoi, there are times when the supply is scarce, the price of a field mouse is up to 120,000 VND / kg. Photo: CK Similarly in Thoi Lai town, Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city, Ms. Ngoc Han, owner of a mouse trading point, said that the price of type 1 hamsters sold is 70,000 VND / kg, but mainly delivered in large quantities. for guests in Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere. Buyers just need to call to inform the quantity, the mouse will be pre-processed, frozen, delivered to the place. As a hamster trader with decades of experience in Thoi Lai town, Ms. Nguyen Thi Muoi said that the current supply is plentiful and of good quality because many places are harvesting Winter-Spring rice. Currently, type 1 hamster (6-7 animals / kg) has a price of 80,000 VND / kg, a hamster of type 2 is lower with 70,000 VND / kg, and the smallest type is 60,000 VND / kg. According to Ms. Muoi, this price is high, but has decreased by about 20,000 VND compared to the time before Tet. At that time, the supply of mice was scarce, especially, sometimes the price increased to 120,000 VND / kg because there was no stock. Most of the rats here are taken from the border areas of An Giang province, sometimes hundreds of kilograms. The rest are from Soc Trang or Hau Giang. Particularly in Can Tho, sometimes hunters are sold, but the quantity is not much. According to PV’s research, the hamster is a long-standing ‘favorite’ dish, especially in the West. In pubs, rats are processed into dishes such as grilled, fried, fried leaves… with current prices ranging from 80-120,000 VND / plate. Fried mouse, a dish in a pub in Can Tho. Photo: CK Regarding the 30 billion VND mouse prevention plan of the People’s Committee of Can Tho City, causing a ‘stir’ of public opinion recently, according to PV’s research. , Many localities in the Mekong Delta in recent years have had rat prevention plans. However, there is no specific funding for an annual or phased extermination program or plan. As in Hau Giang, funding for this is spent from the regular activities assigned by agencies, units and other legitimate sources of funding. Regarding the implementation content in the rat-killing plan of the People’s Committee of Can Tho City, according to many farmers, some contents are not necessary, because they have many years of experience in killing rats in their fields, such as The plan sets out the training content for farmers, so “who does not know who to train yet”. Professor Vo Tong Xuan, a leading industry expert who has been attached to Mekong Delta agriculture for decades, also said that the amount of money spent to implement the plan is too large, and may not be as effective as the farmers themselves.

Hamster is a “favorite” dish of many people, especially people in the West. In pubs, mice are processed into dishes such as grilled, fried, fried in leaves, … with prices from 80,000 to 120,000 VND / plate. Fried rats in a pub in Can Tho. (Photo: Tien Phong) Currently, many localities in the Mekong Delta are harvesting the Winter-Spring crop, causing the price of ham here to decrease compared to before the Lunar New Year. However, according to Tien Phong Newspaper, the price of hamster in the Mekong Delta is still high, equivalent to or higher than pork. Currently, type 1 hamster (6-7 animals / kg) has a price of 80,000 VND / kg, a hamster of type 2 is lower with 70,000 VND / kg, and the smallest type is 60,000 VND / kg. This price has decreased by about 20,000 VND compared to the time before Tet. At that time, the supply of mice was scarce, sometimes the price increased to 120,000 VND / kg. Vegetables fall back to Hanoi, 200 thousand / kg are still ‘sold out’ Vegetables in the forest or flowers in the forest are not too new to the people of the capital. However, this specialty forest vegetable is still very attractive every season, despite its extremely expensive price, which can be said to be the most expensive of all forest vegetables. Currently, the price of wild vegetables in Hanoi is up to 180,000 VND / kg, while the flower and vegetable price is 200,000 VND / kg, which is more expensive than American beef bacon. Compared to the price of industrial chicken, the price of this vegetable is 10 times more expensive. Compared to last year, this year vegetables are about 30,000-40,000 VND / kg more expensive. Lilies in the season, growers collect hundreds of millions Lilies are also known as lilies or lilies. This flower is known as “Queen of April” and every season, the trumpet shines on Hanoi’s street. Everyone takes advantage of buying packages like the plug. The trumpet is dubbed “the Queen of April” In the flower capital of Tay Tuu (Hanoi), farmers are rushing to harvest lilies. Every day, a household cuts thousands of flowers. Flowers can be cut wherever they are sold. Some households earn hundreds of million dong thanks to lilies. Compared with the price of flowers at the beginning of the season of 300,000-350,000 VND / 100 flowers, the price of lilies has decreased, in some places it is only 150,000-170,000 VND / 100 cluster flowers. White pear flowers damp, small traders pity to throw away Family & Social News newspaper, more than 1 month ago, hundreds of small businesses from Cao Bang, Lang Son frantically brought thousands of white pear flower branches (pears and tigers) to the capital for sale. However, this year, due to the epidemic effect of Covid-19, the number of flowers sold has decreased significantly compared to every year. Although the small traders have reduced the price of floor theater for each white pear branch, customers do not care. Therefore, a large amount of white pear flowers are damp, the small trader has to pityly throw it away with sugar. According to many small traders, the white pear flower brought from the northern mountainous provinces to the capital has not been so humid this year. The fact that the pear blossoms are damp has caused many small businesses to lose hundreds of millions of dong. Super giant plums imported from Australia cause fever Dinosaur plums imported from Australia (also known as dinosaur plums) are now being bought by many hunters. Compared with plums, this plum has 2-3 times the size and weight, every 6-7 fruits will reach 1 kg. When the fruit is ripe, it will give a beautiful red color, thick, hard flesh, sweet taste. Super giant plum (Photo: Dan Tri) Australian plum is currently priced from 180,000-220,000 VND / kg. Last year, at the end of the season, 1 kg of Australian plums cost 300,000 VND. The world’s most delicious rice ST25 is rampant counterfeiting As noted by Reporter Tien Phong, the rice market in Hanoi currently has dozens of types of ST25 rice offered by traders for prices from 28,000-40,000 VND / kg. Although the same brand ST 25, but all kinds of different models and packages. In addition to rice agents, social networks also appeared full of shops, shops, individuals who actively promote and sell “genuine” ST25 rice. After being named the world’s best rice, the ST25 rice was impersonated, counterfeiting rampant in the domestic market. According to Mr. Ho Quang Cua, the father of the ST25 rice brand, there are dozens of fake rice on the market, imitation of his brand. Hot season cooling products have strong discounts Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper reported that electronics centers in Ho Chi Minh City are implementing discount programs, giving gifts … to attract consumers to buy hot season cooling products. In which, air conditioner is the most preferential item with a discount from a few hundred to several million dong. Air-conditioner products attract customers (Photo: Lao Dong) In addition, electric fans, air-conditioning fans, and steam fans are also discounted by many electronics supermarkets up to 51% to stimulate demand. With the same season, the price is low, the pineapple is priced Recorded by PV Doanh and Tiep Thi in the largest growing place in Hanoi (Hiep Thuan commune, Phuc Tho district), this year, the season is good, but the revenue is not high. The price for ripening is reduced compared to every year, the wholesale price ranges from 7,000 to 28,000 VND / kg. Meanwhile, despite being heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the export via quota to the Chinese market is in trouble, but this year, farmers in Lao Cai have a good harvest but do not worry about devaluation. According to Dan Tri Newspaper, the commercial pineapple market of Lao Cai province is being consumed strongly with prices from 5,500-6,000 VND / kg. At this price, pineapple growers will have a relatively high profit compared to previous years. Durian off season, Tra Vinh dried coconut high price News / TTXVN newspaper said that in Tien Giang, durian is in reverse with the consumption price standing at a very high level, about 90,000 VND / kg. According to the agricultural sector of Tien Giang province, with an average yield of 20 tons / ha, each hectare of durian produces up to 1.8 billion VND production value. After subtracting production costs, farmers profit not less than 1 billion. Durian has high prices (Photo: News / TTXVN) Also in Tra Vinh, the price of desiccated coconuts for more than a week has risen “fever” from VND 75,000 / dozen being collected by agents at the garden for VND 85,000 / dozen. The price of desiccated coconuts increases, but the supply in the province is still insufficient. Besides, from the beginning of March until now, due to the harsh hot weather, the demand for fresh coconut has increased, pushing up the price of fresh coconut to 120,000 VND / dozen. The price of Da Lat artichoke fell sharply According to News / TTXVN, gardeners in Da Lat (Lam Dong) are starting to harvest the main artichoke crop with an average price of only about 50,000-60,000 VND / kg, much lower than previous months. . Recently, the prices of processed artichoke products fell sharply. Currently, the price of dried artichokes is only 180,000-200,000 VND / kg, fresh artichoke flowers are 50,000-60,000 VND / kg, previously from 300,000-400,000 VND / kg. The reason why Da Lat artichoke dropped sharply was mostly due to the poor consumption, the decrease of fresh artichoke products for export. Hanh Nguyen (Synthetic)

Hamster fried with lemongrass and chili. https://dulich.petrotimes.vn/ Snakehead fish steamed in tank To prepare this dish, the processor will clean the snakehead fish and then cut it into pieces, season with enough seasoning and fish sauce and place it on the steam bath. The sweetness of the fish is fragrant, mixed with the characteristic scent of a crunchy and exotic tub, and it’s delicious just by smell. This dish must be eaten while still hot, served with snakehead fish roll rice paper, adding a little vermicelli and wild vegetables, and dipping with spicy and sour fish sauce will create a rich flavor. Classic flexible fish hotpot What makes this dish unique is the characteristic taste of Ganoderma lucidum fish, sweet crispy crazy cotton, pickled and sour tamarind, fatty greasy taste, mixed together with spices to make the dish wake up. The fragrant aroma makes everyone a delicious compliment. Can be eaten with fresh noodles or hot rice and indispensable a little chili fish sauce to dot the fish, making the dish more rich. Sour soup with fish Referring to Western delicacies, it will be a major omission if not mentioning the delicious fish and sour soup, not boring. The taste of crispy sweet and lumpy fish is seasoned with a little sour tamarind, a little delicious fish sauce combined with a few dangerous chili, a little coriander, eaten while still hot, will surely captivate any fastidious diners. Lemongrass warehouse imitation of coconut milk The quintessential soul of this western dish lies in its rustic ingredients and simple preparation. Westerners make imitation in a clay-fired pot on a coal fire. In particular, the delicious lemongrass flavor mixed with fatty coconut milk, a little chili, served with vegetables, banana corn to create a special dish, full of Western flavors. Steamed inside onion fat Heart tong is a popular fish, often used to store pepper or deep-fry. But few people know, the heart is also steamed with onion fat. Just fry the onion fat and season with enough seasoning. Then, sprinkle the scallion fat over the fish and put it in a steamer. After 15 minutes, you will have delicious Western dishes that are hard to resist. Hamster fried chili lemongrass This is one of the western delicacies with its own taste. The delicious hamster meat is comparable to goat meat and chicken meat. Just clean and then let the fresh lemongrass minced, remove the dangerous chili, add spices and a little delicious fish sauce and mix well. Then, in a frying pan, there is a golden rat meat dish with attractive aroma. https://dulich.petrotimes.vn/