Traditional cassava and betel leaf soup

Even at over 40 years old, I felt a pang of nostalgia as I savored the sweet, comforting taste of my childhood in a pot of cassava soup with betel leaves.

A rustic cassava soup with betel leaves. Photo: Hong Sanh

The aroma of roasted peanut oil mingled with the scent of betel leaves rises in the cool mountain air of Tra My, captivating the taste buds. I carefully savored each spoonful, hoping to rediscover the flavors of the past. The sweet and earthy taste of cassava combined with the delicate sweetness of betel leaves transported me back to my peaceful childhood in a poor rural area.

There, after school each afternoon, I would run to the fence to pick tender, green betel leaves for my mother to cook cassava soup. There, after returning from the fields, my father would go to the garden and pull up an old cassava plant laden with tubers. There, I would sit attentively watching my mother peel each cassava root and kindly ask me about my day at school.

As I grew older, I would peel the cassava myself, meticulously keeping the peel intact, and show it to my mother with a sparkling smile in my eyes. There, I would often quietly watch my mother peel each cassava root that my grandmother sent from the sea. Then, she would sauté some peanut oil, add the chopped cassava, and pour in boiling water to cook until tender. Once the cassava was soft, she would add betel leaves and then take it off the heat.

The aroma of the homemade soup, imbued with my mother's love, permeated the small kitchen. In the chilly mountain air, my parents and siblings gathered around the simple meal, happily savoring the hot cassava soup and eating with relish.

No meat, no shrimp, no many spices needed, cassava soup with betel leaves and crushed garlic is a dish you'll remember forever after just one try. The delicious, subtly sweet flavor of mountain cassava is enough to captivate everyone.

We grew up amidst poverty and hardship. But for me, every moment of the past is a sweet and beautiful memory. It was the simple, home-cooked meals that my parents used to prepare that nourished my siblings and me as we grew up...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/dan-da-canh-khoai-san-la-lot-3149768.html