On a rainy day, I sit and think of cassava.

There were two common types of cassava at that time: glutinous cassava and cotton cassava. Glutinous cassava had yellow-white stems and leaves, and its skin was also white. It had a fragrant aroma similar to glutinous rice, but it was chewy, not crumbly. Cotton cassava, on the other hand, had reddish-purple stems, leaf stalks, and skin. Although it lacked the fragrant aroma of glutinous cassava, its tubers were very crumbly and starchy, so most rural families chose this type of cassava to eat during rainy and flood seasons. Sometimes, cassava was eaten as a supplementary meal, just for the sake of it, but for many poor families, especially those without rice paddies and only hilly land, cassava was a staple food. "Swallowing cassava makes your throat ache, yet you can still talk about the world !" Farmers often joked with each other about this whenever someone discussed something far-fetched.

Hilly land is the preferred location for cassava cultivation because it is not prone to flooding, allowing farmers to leave the cassava tubers until the dry season, then harvest, slice, and dry them without fear of spoilage. However, most of the cassava left to be sliced during the dry season is glutinous cassava, while regular cassava is usually eaten fresh.

Harvesting cassava tubers while the plant is still alive is an "art" for those who gather them. The skill of predicting how many tubers are beneath the soil at the base of the plant, and which one is the largest, is paramount for those who harvest them. The term "digging" is used, not "pulling," because each cassava plant usually has 3-5 tubers, but they don't grow uniformly. Those who gather the tubers are only allowed to "dig," meaning they look at the base of the plant, predict which direction the tubers are growing, and estimate their size before digging up the soil, cutting the tubers, and then covering them with soil so the smaller tubers can grow. They are not allowed to pull up the entire clump.

Peel the cassava root, cut it into 5cm pieces, and boil it in a pot with a little salt and a few pandan leaves to give it a savory flavor and aroma. Unlike sticky rice noodles, cassava root cooks very quickly, about 15-20 minutes, and you'll have a steaming pot of cassava root. A warm family atmosphere surrounds that pot of cassava root.

"The cassava root is so delicious it's almost choking," this phrase refers both specifically to the fact that the cassava root is very starchy and easily gets stuck in the throat when eaten, and also to something more abstract: the enjoyment of a rural product so delicious that it's beyond words!

Over 30 years ago, even though I had a job, I lived with my parents, meaning I still had to "deal" with sweet potatoes and cassava every day. I was so fed up with them that I even included them in my poetry: "I'm like a good-for-nothing / Coming home and then leaving / Present at all three meals / But I dread sweet potatoes and cassava." Yet, over 30 years later, cassava has become a delicacy, more expensive than even the best rice available today.

On a rainy day, I sit and think of cassava. It reminds me of a time of poverty, but one filled with love...