Hello, everyone! This is travel blogger Jones Go. I am back with the second story of my Vietnam Market Exploration series. Today, I explored the Vietnamese market again in search of fresh shellfish.

Discovering a Vietnamese Market

Vietnam markets are truly a treasure trove of diverse seafood. Among them, the variety of shellfish was truly dazzling. In addition to the shellfish called Chip Chip that I introduced on my YouTube channel last time, various types of shellfish tempted me. However, what I was looking for today was fresh lilies. First of all, the price around here was around 80,000 VND per kilogram. That's about 3 dollars.

While carefully looking around the market, I found a shellfish shop that I liked. When I asked the owner for 1 kilogram of lilies, he carefully checked the freshness of each shell by touching it with his own hands. The reason I chose this shop was because it was filled with ice. July in Vietnam is considered hot. I bought some clams called Chip Chips at a market near my house a week ago, but before I cooked them, half of them were dead, so I threw away half of them.

It was such a waste. I bought 1kg, but it was the same as if I had bought 500g at the time. However, the owner of this store filled them with ice and even knocked on each clam to give them only healthy ones. If you knock on the clams and they make a clear sound, they are alive and fresh.

However, if they make a dull sound, they are dead. If you watch my Jonesgo YouTube channel, you can see the owner sorting the clams one by one and putting them in a bag. The name of this store is also listed there. For information about the market, please refer to Part 1 of my blog post. So I was moved by their sincerity and decided to become a regular at this store. From now on, I will only buy clams here whenever I come to Vietnam!

Various types of clams in Vietnamese Market

The types of clams sold at Vietnamese markets are truly diverse. At first, I hesitated about which clam to choose, but I was captivated by the chewy texture and deep flavor of the lily, so I ended up choosing the lily. And since the chip chips I bought at the market near my house last time were dead and I threw away half of them, I wanted to buy chip chips, but this time I wanted to eat the lily.

Those who watched the clam dish video called Chip Chip that I uploaded on my YouTube channel last time know that Vietnamese clams are really fresh and delicious. And at the same time, I will tell you how to distinguish Chinese and Korean clams at the store. Chinese clams have marks on the entrance as if they were painted with black paint.

However, Korean lily clams are really expensive, but they taste really good and the eggs are also big. And the lily is slightly black and there are over 100 kinds of mooni, so they are called lily. I bought delicious Vietnamese lilies with the know-how to choose Korean lilies. If you look at my YouTube channel, Jonesgo, you will see that I chose lilies that look similar to Korean ones. That is how delicious Korean lilies are.

Know-how for choosing lilies in Vietnamese Market

Also, when I asked the boss how to choose lilies, he told me that clams with firm and shiny shells are fresh clams. He also said that clams that close their mouths tightly when pressed lightly are alive clams. Thanks to the boss's special touch, I was able to choose really fresh lilies. He pressed the clams lightly when selecting them. Anyway, thank you boss!

Simple but delicious lily dish recipe

I came home and made a simple dish with fresh lilies. First, I put oil on them and added garlic and pepper to give them a spicy flavor. If you stir-fry them for too long, the garlic will absorb the oil, so it is important to stir-fry them for an appropriate amount of time. Then, add the washed lilies, add a little salt and pepper, and stir-fry them together to quickly complete a delicious dish.

You can make a stir-fry dish using clams like this, and for the next dish, I prepared lily soup. Add garlic and peppers to boiling water. Do not chop the garlic too finely, as the soup will become cloudy. If you chop the peppers halfway, the seasoning will be just right. I used three kinds of peppers: red, orange, and green. This is because each pepper has a different flavor and taste. Also, you only need to add a spoonful of salt, but it is better to prepare coarse salt. I used Vietnamese coarse salt, and it was good. When all the clams open, put them in a bowl and enjoy. For more information, please refer to YouTube Jonesgo.

Conclusion of Vietnamese Market

The charm of exploring clams in the Vietnamese market and a preview of the next story

It was a really fun experience to buy fresh clams in the Vietnamese market and cook them myself. Next time, I will tell you how to choose delicious fruits at the market. I hope this information will be helpful to those of you who are planning a trip to Vietnam.