Ngán is a bivalve mollusk living in saltwater and brackish water. Ngán can be seen in many places, but Quang Ninh ngán is considered the best by food connoisseurs.
Ngán is usually slightly larger than a clam, with a rough white shell, and lives deep under the mud. When underwater, ngán often extends its large, long siphon to breathe and forage for food. When the water surface is disturbed or rippled, ngán quickly burrows into the mud to hide.
During the season of Quang Ninh ngán, fishermen often have to wade deep into the mud to harvest the ngán, which is why this trade requires great patience. Many people remark that nowhere is ngán as delicious as those living in the Bach Dang estuary area on the border between Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City.
Ngán is prepared by Quang Ninh locals into a wide variety of dishes: grilled ngán, steamed ngán, ngán porridge, ngán salad, stir-fried glass noodles with ngán, stir-fried rice vermicelli with ngán, Malabar spinach soup with ngán, and even ngán blood wine.
Ngán blood wine.
Ngán is rich in nutrients; ngán meat contains protein, glucide, lipid, and many essential vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, ngán meat contains compounds that stimulate the release of sex hormones when absorbed by the body.
Though named 'ngán' (cloying), eating it never leaves one tired of it. The appetizer of the meal is usually ngán blood wine: live ngán is pried open, letting its blood flow into wine to create a blood-red color. One can drink ngán blood wine without easily getting drunk, and it is a nourishing liquor for men.
Ngán blood wine.
If hesitant to drink it raw, people will warm the liquor, called ngán sake, which eliminates the fishy smell of raw ngán. Ngán can be grilled or steamed; when steaming, ngán is often tied tightly with string to prevent the liquid inside from escaping.
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And gourmets only steam it medium-rare because overcooking diminishes its flavor. Steamed or grilled ngán usually has a savory taste with a sweet aftertaste; dipping it in chili sauce mixed with seasoning powder, black pepper, fresh lime juice, and eating it with herbs leaves diners with an unforgettable impression after just one try.
Ngán soup. Photo: Dan Viet Newspaper.
Ngán porridge is also favored because the sweetness of ngán blends into the porridge, making it rich and flavorful. To cook ngán porridge, first split the shell in half and scoop out the meat. Finely chop the meat and stir-fry until just cooked with fish sauce, black pepper, and fried shallots, then add it directly into the boiling porridge pot, season to taste, and sprinkle with chopped scallions, cilantro, coriander, and black pepper.
Steamed ngán. Photo: Internet.
Quang Ninh ngán can also be used to make ngán salad, with a simple preparation that is incredibly delicious. With just one banana flower and about 10 ngán clams, you can create a ngán salad that leaves an unforgettable impression on diners.
Ngán clams are usually easy to catch in summer and autumn; in the cold winter, they burrow deep into the mud, increasing harvesting difficulty. In the past, ngán clams were plentiful and cheaper than blood cockles, but now they have become a rare delicacy with high prices.
Ngán clams are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. Illustrative image: Internet.
Currently, nowhere has successfully farmed ngán clams on a large scale, Quang Ninh ngán clams from the Bach Dang estuary have become rare. Visitors to Ha Long Market can easily encounter large, beautifully colored ngán clams. But those clams are usually imported from the South and have a blander taste than native ones.
