Variations with cactus

The homeland of General Vo Nguyen Giap is located in the heart of the Central region, famous for its long stretches of sand and dry Lao winds. It is also the place where cacti thrive. For generations, cacti have been there, always a symbol of resilient drought-resistant plants, evolving to adapt to water-deficient environments.

Famous cactus soup

Cactus is still mainly imagined like that. Few people expect that, in the process of culinary creation, many people have transformed cactus into ingredients and created surprising delicious dishes. So now, cactus has become a specialty that anyone who visits Quang Binh wants to try at least once.

First is the sour cactus soup. The writer himself, a native of Quang Binh, was also very surprised when he enjoyed this dish about 15 years ago. At that time, no one knew who came up with this dish, but now almost all the restaurants along Nhat Le beach and Bao Ninh beach in Dong Hoi city have sour cactus soup on the menu.

Cactus is put into a cool drink

In this dish, the cactus has its thorns removed, then thinly sliced ​​into star shapes and cooked with many types of fish. But stingray still seems to be the most reasonable choice. With cactus, the fishy smell will disappear. With fish, the cactus will "absorb" the salty taste of the sea, becoming cool and crunchy... Many people were hesitant when they first touched the cactus soup with chopsticks, but once they got used to it, they were "addicted". Addicted to the light sour taste, very different from star fruit or tamarind leaves.

It seems that the variation with soup is not enough. A cafe in the center of Dong Hoi City has "exclusively invented" a drink from cactus: cactus tea.

This plant is not considered a food, but in fact, cactus can be processed into juice, cactus tea... rich in vitamins and extremely good for health such as helping to reduce cholesterol, improve digestion, reduce inflammation...

In the summer weather of Quang Binh, ordering a cool glass of cactus tea to cool down is a suggestion worth trying!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bien-tau-voi-xuong-rong-185241009171130545.htm