(VNF) - Although these creatures may seem unappetizing to many, ragworms have long been served in food in Vietnam, and can be quite nutritious.

Ruoi (palolo/ragworm/sand worm) season begin from at the beginning of September to October or November. Looking at the ruoi, almost people do not think they could be made as the Best Vietnamese Food. This dish, fried ruoi omelet (Cha Ruoi), attracts the big number of customers in its season in year.

Certain provinces in the country are well known for this type of worm, including Hai Duong, Ha Tinh, Quang Ninh and Thai Binh.

Ruoi taste a little fatty and greasy, and sweet enough and they're a little crunchy. These characteristics are why they make for great food, though they must be fresh.

Ruoi spend much of their short lives in brackish water burrowing into the sand or mud. Their hue changes from pinkish purple when young to milky brown as they mature. When the bellies fill with a milky fluid, it is time for the ruoi to depart for the spawning grounds.

Fishermen catch ruoi when they appear en masse following a rising tide, floating on the surface of the water in the spawning season in late September or early October.

Before making a meal of ruoi, they must first be cleaned in a bowl of sink of water. Once clean, they can be kept in the fridge for up to a year and used as required.

Before cooking, place the ruoi in a bowl of hot water to remove their tentacles and take away the unpleasant smell. Note that if the tentacles are not completely detached and discarded, cooked ruoi can cause itching and other discomfort.

The fresh ruoi have a light pink color. The fresh one does not have bad smell, but when making it the bad smell will appear. Therefore, the cookers use the mandarin’s skin to reduce the smell.

The ingredients of making ruoi spring are ruoi, pork which is pureed, mandarin’s skin, onions and chilies.

Cha ruoi is not available all year round. Ruoi is a type of sand worm that can only be found from the end of September to the middle of October. The short season is why Hanoians regard cha ruoi as a special but expensive gift from nature.

The sauce includes pepper, fish sauce, lemon and chilies. You do not eat any noodles or vegetables to eat with this Best Vietnamese Food. Fried ruoi spring has a fat flavor, the fragrant of mandarin and the spicy of chilies. It is not a luxurious food from the hotel, but it is taste that diners cannot forget when eating one time.

Ruoi doesn’t live in Hanoi – it lives in the mangroves and wetlands along the coast. In the capital, cha ruoi is a delicacy this time of year – the delicious smell of it cooking is very pervasive, a temptation to passers-by. The combination of fried ruoi and egg is irresistible.

Ruoi is sold in the local market is ruoi which is frozen in the bridge yearly, so the taste is not delicious. Ruoi’s season just take in a short time which occurs only two or three weeks. Therefore, people usually take their friends to ruoi restaurant to enjoy this Best Vietnamese Food in its season./.

( Compiled by VNF )