Bitter vegetable soup filled with memories

I remember when I was a student in the capital, I always had to be frugal with food. But every meal was so much fun, especially when the whole group was slurping bitter vegetable soup.

The rustic vegetable dish cooked by my roommate is an unforgettable dish. A simple pot of bitter vegetable soup that I miss after not eating for a long time. My friend, who is from Hanoi , told me many stories about this simple soup.

In the countryside, people still call this vegetable bitter vegetable because it has a bitter taste, that's all, simple and refreshing to eat, it is a soup served with rice every day.

Bitter vegetable soup is simple but delicious.

Thanh Trung

Bitter vegetables are grown almost naturally when wild vegetables are scarce. In the past, during the subsidy period, when people did not have enough to eat, my aunt often picked this bitter vegetable growing wild in the wasteland, washed it, and cooked it into soup to eat. My aunt said that this vegetable originated from the central region, but people in the countryside outside Hanoi brought it back to grow on its own.

It's that simple, but a bowl of soup warms the heart. Especially for people who have just returned to the capital from far away, being treated to rice with bitter vegetable soup, plus eggplant, there's nothing better.

It is a simple soup but it is not easy to cook well. At that time, I was surprised because I thought it was just a simple vegetable soup, just put the vegetables in to boil and it was done, but bitter vegetable soup also had a secret. My friend said that bitter vegetables must be washed and soaked, otherwise it will create an unpleasant feeling.

This dish is best cooked with perch. The fish pieces are carefully filtered, cleaned, and cut in half. Perch is best when its meat is marinated with a little bit of seasoning to taste. This method may sound greasy, but it is the secret of those who cook delicious fish soup, although it is a bit laborious.

The secret is to use very little oil or fat, and let the fish cook mainly through the simmering process. Some people like to leave the fish whole, others like to cut it in half.

After the fish is marinated, it looks very attractive. We take the fish out and put it in a bowl or plate. Add some shallots to fry until fragrant, after boiling, pour in water and add the fish and boil again. Bitter herbs will be added last. Cooking like this will keep the rich flavor of bitter herbs. That slightly bitter flavor seems to spread, blending with the fatty taste of perch meat, so perfect.

That bowl of bitter vegetable soup with perch still has its flavor until now. I remember one day, my aunt had left her hometown and gone abroad to work for a long time. She only remembered that simple bitter vegetable soup with perch . To her, this simple bitter taste was unexpectedly sophisticated.

Sometimes you don't need fancy dishes, just hometown love and old dishes are enough.