Cassava when I was a kid

All country people love cassava. When ground and made into cakes, cassava is perfect. But boiled cassava is still a "national" dish.

Back then, when cassava season came, my grandmother's kitchen always had a full basket. Every afternoon when she had free time, she would sit in the backyard peeling the cassava. The cassava wore a brown coat. It looked gentle on the outside, so it was also white on the inside. The cassava peel was very "attractive". Unlike the peels of other tubers, the cassava peeled off like peeling a tree. As a child, I was fond of having fun, so I followed my grandmother to "peel" it.

Grandma split the cassava into small pieces, then took it to the well to "wash" it clean. Back in the kitchen, grandma lit a fire, put the clay pot on to boil the cassava. I don't know if boiling is the easiest and most leisurely dish to prepare. But cassava is very leisurely to prepare. Just pour water into the pot, put the cassava in, and wait for the water to drain.

Cassava with bean salt

When cooked, the cassava pot will automatically alert me with the aroma system. The aroma of cassava when cooked is very fragrant. The aroma fills the kitchen, layered throughout the house. Grandma opened the pot of cassava, smoke billowed. The cassava had just finished cooking, hot and steaming. I took a piece of cassava. Then I passed it from hand to hand. Cassava cannot be broken in half like sweet potatoes. To eat, you have to split it lengthwise. The hot cassava almost made my tongue slip out. But the rich taste made me unable to stop. The original cassava was delicious, if combined with bean salt, it would be even more delicious. Take a piece of cassava, dip it in bean salt and enjoy. The rich cassava, the fragrant bean salt, along with the salty taste of salt and the sweetness of sugar "cooperated" with each other. No one said anything, but looking at the empty pot of cassava, everyone implicitly understood whether their stomachs were praising it as delicious or criticizing it as bad.

The secret is to boil cassava, fry it in oil until fragrant. Then, add the cassava and stir-fry it a few times. Grandma adds a pinch of salt, a little MSG, and a pinch of sugar. Grandma knows that the dish is delicious, or maybe she knows that children also like "new things" and doesn't know how to make it. The dish is not named, but the aftertaste remains until now.

Growing up, my hometown remained behind. I stepped into the city. The gifts from my hometown also followed me to the city. What a happiness. However, a few times I stopped by to buy cassava, I happily told the saleswoman: "This dish has its roots in the countryside, right?". She looked up at me, smiled slightly, her eyes filled with tears.

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