Bo khai (also known as day huong, rau da hien, khau huong, rau ngot leo, rau nghien...) is a wild vegetable that grows a lot in some northern mountainous provinces, typically in Bac Kan and Lang Son.
Among them, rau bo khai in Ba Be region (Bac Kan) is considered to be more delicious and characteristic, becoming a famous specialty and was in the top 100 Vietnamese specialty dishes 2020 - 2021.
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At first glance, rau bo khai looks quite similar to rau ngot but the tips are round and plump like chayote shoots. The tips and young leaves of rau bo khai are often used as food, processed into familiar daily dishes of the locals such as boiled, stir-fried with garlic, stir-fried with meat, soup...
According to locals, rau bo khai grows all year round but is greenest and youngest in spring. At this time, people go to the forest to harvest rau bo khai shoots, cut them into 40-50cm long pieces, then arrange them into bundles of about half a kilo to 1 kilo, and bring them to the market to sell.
Ms. Ngoc Huyen - owner of a restaurant in Ba Be district said that rau bo khai has a strong smell, so many diners who try it for the first time often find it difficult to eat, not tasty or do not like it.
But anyone who gets used to it will be "addicted" to the distinctive flavor of this vegetable.
“Wood water spinach is quite cheap, about 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg (depending on the place) and is easy to prepare and can be cooked into many dishes.
When you buy this vegetable, you just need to remove the old stem, take the leaves and young stems, and wash it. The vegetable has a strong smell, so before cooking, you need to blanch it and crush it to reduce the smell and make the vegetable softer," said Ms. Huyen.
According to this woman, rau bo khai can be processed into many delicious dishes, but the most popular is stir-fried with garlic. In addition, in the Northwest, ethnic people here often stir-fry rau bo khai with eggs or Chinese sausage, which is also very delicious, creating a unique flavor.
To keep the water spinach crispy and beautiful green color, before cooking, people often blanch the vegetables in boiling water, then remove and rinse with cold water or soak them immediately in ice water.
This type of wild vegetable should only be stir-fried until cooked to ensure it is crispy and delicious. Avoid stir-frying for too long or the vegetable will become tough and dry.
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Not only is it an ingredient in many famous delicious dishes, watercress is also considered a precious medicine, helping to restore health to people with physical weakness, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
In addition, according to traditional medicine, watercress is also effective in treating some diseases of the liver, kidneys and urinary tract..., helps reduce numbness, lower fever, stimulate digestion, support the treatment of kidney stones and viral hepatitis.
Photo: Song Anh DC
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