Lai's wife smokes rats with straw. She says rat meat is prepared in various ways, most commonly stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, steamed, or grilled. She was also a skilled rat catcher but now only assists her husband with initial processing and transport, rarely going to the fields.

From around 6 a.m., Canh Nau 2 village market buzzes with customers. This market stands out from traditional Vietnamese markets due to its unique offering of rat meat, priced at approximately 200,000 VND per kg. Rat meat is a specialty in Canh Nau, a woodworking village also known for its long-standing tradition of consuming the meat.

About 200 meters from Canh Nau 2 village market, Do Huu Lai and his wife display a large basin of rat meat, ready for cleaning. Villagers say Lai was a renowned rat hunter in his youth.

After two smoking sessions, the rats turn a deep golden-brown. The product is mainly supplied to nearby restaurants and customers who place orders from other areas. In fact, this dish is primarily popular in Canh Nau, as even in the neighboring Chang Son commune, few people dare to try rat meat.

During the peak season at the end of the year, his family typically sells about 14 kg of meat daily.

The number of rat hunters in Canh Nau village has significantly decreased as young people are no longer interested in the profession. According to Lai, diligent work can provide enough income to support a family. However, rat hunting is not simple; he often travels to Vinh Phuc province to find new fields with fatter rats.

Grilled rat meat, sprinkled with sesame seeds and lime leaves, is favored by many diners, especially drinking groups.

A rat burrow in the fields of Chang Son commune. According to Phu, the rat hunting profession in Canh Nau has passed its "peak." Older individuals with poorer eyesight cannot catch as many. Few young, strong individuals are capable of managing 200 traps like him.

The rat holding cage has a hole on top connected to the cage trap, allowing rats to be transferred without direct handling, preventing bites.

At Thanh Hoa restaurant, grilled or steamed rat is a bestseller. Nguyen Thi Loan, the owner, explains that preparing rat meat is meticulous because it can retain an unpleasant odor if not done thoroughly. After initial processing, the rats are marinated with onions, fish sauce, garlic, and MSG, then roasted until the skin becomes crispy and golden.

"Rat meat is delicious, fatty, and fragrant; many people are afraid of it, but once they try it, they get hooked," Loan says.

To supply rat meat to the restaurant, Duc Phu works in the fields for about 8 hours daily. After lunch, he carries two bags containing nearly 200 cage traps, weighing 24 kg, to hunt rats in the large fields of Chang Son commune.

Phuc's 13-year-old son accompanies him, helping to plant red flag markers to indicate trap locations, ensuring Phu can collect all the traps the next day.

Common methods for hunting field rats include herding, flooding burrows, trapping, or using baskets. According to Phu, cage traps are superior because snap traps often injure the rats' legs, leading to necrosis and spoiling the meat. His cage traps, bought from the southern region, cost nearly 20,000 VND each—three or four times more than regular traps—but they are durable, and rats entering them have a 100% escape prevention rate.

The "harvest" season for rat hunters runs from September to December according to the lunar calendar, after the rice farmers complete their harvest.

"I understand them to the point where I can tell if footprints in the field are old or new, and which way they are going, so I can set traps accurately," he says. Each trapping session lasts 4 hours, or longer for larger fields. Besides setting traps, he also uses dogs to chase rats and catches them by hand, sometimes getting bitten until his hands bleed.

After placing the rats into an iron cage, he goes home to sleep and returns to collect the traps at 4 a.m. the next day. On average, the trap success rate is 40%, yielding about 15 kg of rats per session. However, the work also carries risks, as thieves sometimes steal both traps and rats; some nights he has lost over 200 traps.

Phu shows off a fat rat caught in the field. He states that demand is high, so all the rats caught are sold immediately. Towards the end of the rat hunting season, prices are expected to increase by an additional 30,000-40,000 VND per kg.

Phu often keeps the fattest, best rats for his family. He says rat hunting has been a joy since childhood, and few things compare to the happiness of seeing a plump rat in a trap.

According to Phu, one or two years ago, foreign reporters sought his assistance for a documentary on rat hunting. He also helped some tour guides bring visitors to experience night rat hunting in the fields.

"This profession is interesting but has not been widely promoted," Phu says.

Tu Nguyen

Photos: Hoang Giang