Round Scad is common food of Vietnamese, especially for many people need protein to nourish their health after they work by manual work all day.
There are two kinds of Round Scad: Round Scad is called Decapterus Maruadsi and Layang Scad is called Decapterus Macrosoma. Round Scad often has catched in Nha Trang Town coastal region, almost in Quang Ngai Province and Binh Dinh Province. Layang Scad has almost in Long Hai beach. The customer, the people have low salary, almost the workers like to eat Layang Scad more than Round Scad because Layang Scad looks like more beautiful, having round boby, blue sunburnt skin and having less small bone than Round Scad.
Finished – product Round Scad is rather variety as fresh Round Scad(use in daily) has frozen total fish(baiting food for export). Dried cooking Round Scad with headless no use innards. And Round Scad has just cooked in packing of 3 kg, preservation in coolhouse (after selling out market).
Cooking of Dried Round Scad is the traditional career of the central fishermen, the most famous in Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen Province. This job has also got the inhaled ways as cooking Anchovy such as: how methods to keep fire, washing fresh fish, how time to preserve with salt before sorption the least 24 hour. If cooking of Anchovy in the morning, drying, and in the afternoon we bring into the house, Round Scad have to dry about 3 sunny days plus 1 day preserving with salt is total 4 days. We can bring them to go out the selling market.
Talking about Round Scad origin, and my experiences of selling goods think that: they have relationship together as: commercial name of Ca Nuc in Vietnam is Round Scad, Ca Ngan is called Yellow Tail Scad, Ca Mat Kieng is called Red Big Eye Scad.
In my thought, Round Scad meat is very swift. If the chef can cure well, they give a bit spice (five flavors) when stewing Round Scad. When we eat them, we feel as eating beef. Many people think that: Round Scad has origin from the Tuna or Auxis Rochei is called other name Bullet Tuna. And nobody proves the Round Scad being Bullet Tuna themselves, because Tuna and Bullet Tuna has got commercial name being Tuna but not Scad.
Consuming market of Dried Round Scad is fairly vast, mainly going to China market under non- official kinds of many the north provinces by cont.
A big consuming is the Tay Nguyen part from Bao Loc town to Dak Nong Province, Buon Me Thuot city to Gia Lai, Kon Tum Province. Why do many people with low incomes buy Dried Round Scad most dried food? Because they can keep a long time in the kitchen to eat slowly from 3- 4 days (convenient time and no using immediately as fresh fish). Amount of Dried Round Scad per kg is much more 2 or 3 times than fresh fishes (about 7 pcs/kg compared with 22- 23 pcs/ kg). Its price is suitable for people which have low salary from 1 million VND to 1.5 million VND / month.
My talking above, firstly processing the Dried Round Scad is a difficult procedure, not simulating because the methods to keep fire to boil fishes after drying fishes. The fish has white meat (red meat is not good), eating them feel tough, good flavor. Secondly, buying fresh Round Scad when the fish prepares in the shore. This is a difficulty because fresh Round Scad has much red meat, we have to sell the lower price than we have ever sold. Thirdly, how to watch the rain when we are drying fishes for having enough sunny degree and making fishes not fat oil. Especially, we shouldn’t dry fishes when it’s going to rain or we bring canvas to keep fish while they are out of the drying frame. This can create bacteria in fishes.
Moreover, preservation of Round Scad which has no coolhouse about 1 week, this will be made the Round Scad becoming strange smell, appearing many spotted yellow on their skin or they will pour fat oil more than normal.
Some of companies have launched a marketing campaign to Russia, Ukraina since 2007, but now (5/2008) marketing result and selling products is not much and not effect. My company has passed two failure of fillet Round Scad and cutting into pieces since 2003 and one time in 2008 with Russian customer.Firstly, we can’t exchange Round Scad meat while dried fillet from gray to fresh yellow as Yellow Strip Trevally. Secondly, Round Scad of cooking has tough and white meat. However, when we dry as Yellow Strip Trevally methods, we are not enough request.
Now, we have applying in marketing some of products for salted fishes methods in tradition such as: Kingfish- Wahoo, Queenfish. About Bullet Tuna and India Mackerel, we cook like Round Scad preparing export to Canada and England is still limited because pouring fat oil. Hobby of many EU countries in using cooking of dried fishes is fairly small with Round Scad, Bullet Tuna and India Mackerel.
If having any question, contact with me via email: ducfish@vnn.vn
