The "Promoter" of Quang Nam's water spinach

Unique flavor of spinach

Rau tan - also known as lemon basil, thick-leafed perilla, dwarf aromatic herb, hairy aromatic herb - is an easy-to-grow, easy-to-live plant. Almost every home garden in Quang Nam has a few bushes of thick-leafed, lush green perilla with a distinctive flavor.

According to folk experience, rau tan is a medicine to treat coughs, relieve colds, clear the voice, or used to cover up bites from centipedes and scorpions. In addition to its medicinal benefits, rau tan is also used in many dishes.

Because the leaves have a characteristic aroma, they are often used in kitchens to cook with poultry, beef, etc. They are also used to remove the fishy smell of fish and goat meat. The leaves of the plant are also used to cook sour soup or stews.

“Guests come to the house, if not chicken, then duck”. Quang people are very hospitable. Along with pork and rice paper, boiled duck with perilla leaves is always the dish chosen by many families to entertain. The boiled duck is just cooked, the skin is lightly yellow, the meat is firm and sweet.

The broth has a little ginger, a little onion, and a few spinach leaves added last. When the lid is opened, steam rises, the flavors blend together, with the fat of the meat and the freshness of the vegetables, creating a special aroma that no other spice can replace.

As a default, when there is boiled duck on the tray, there must be a plate of water spinach placed next to it. Outsiders may find it strange, but in Quang Nam, water spinach and duck meat are like a perfect pair, missing each other means losing half the delicious taste.

Tear the spinach leaves into small pieces, roll them with duck slices and dip them in the ginger fish sauce. The spicy, slightly sour, fatty, and aromatic flavors all come together in your mouth. That’s enough to create a “delicious bite that you’ll never forget”!

Many Quang people far from home confided that, whenever they think of boiled duck, they not only think of the fatty, fragrant meat, but also remember the rau tan, like remembering a familiar, gentle and understanding friend. It is not only a culinary ingredient but also a memory, an emotion, a hometown soul. They also confided that they eat boiled duck in many places, some places serve it with basil, some places add lemon leaves, but only when there is rau tan do they feel the "right taste" and truly "incomparably delicious"!

Promoter of "Central food"

During his lifetime, scholar, journalist, writer Phan Khoi (1887-1959) was probably the first person to promote rau tan eaten with boiled duck. He was from Bao An village, Dien Ban, Quang Nam (now Go Noi commune, Da Nang city), with the pen name Chuong Dan, nickname Tu Son, and was one of the great names in Vietnamese journalism and literature in the 20th century. Phan Khoi was not only famous for his sharp academic criticisms in the press but was also known as a pioneer in the New Poetry movement and a lifelong devotee to preserving the purity of the Vietnamese language.

In the book Remembering My Father Phan Khoi ( Da Nang Publishing House, 2017), author Phan Thi My Khanh (Phan Khoi's daughter) recounts a rather interesting story: In the 1940s, from Saigon, scholar Phan Khoi returned to his hometown to live with his family. Here, he welcomed Vu Ngoc Phan, husband of poetess Hang Phuong - Phan Khoi's nephew. Vu Ngoc Phan is a researcher, critic of modern literature, researcher of culture, folk arts, journalist, translator, writer. Before 1945, he was known to many people through the book series Modern Writers.

During the two days staying in Bao An, every day the uncle and nephew exchanged their opinions on journalism, literature or poetry. One afternoon, Phan Khoi enthusiastically took his nephew-in-law, who was also a literary friend, to visit his wife's grandfather's old garden, where poetess Hang Phuong used to climb trees to pick fruit as a child. Pointing to a small plant with thick, serrated leaves, Phan Khoi told Vu Ngoc Phan that it was the rau tan plant, which in the North was only used to treat children's colds and coughs but was not eaten.

The next day, Vu Ngoc Phan enjoyed boiled duck with spinach leaves for the first time in his life. Mrs. Phan Thi My Khanh said: “The boiled duck meat was chopped and arranged on a plate, served on a tray with green bananas, thinly sliced star fruit, basil, a bowl of ginger fish sauce and a plate of fresh spinach leaves. My father instructed the guests on how to eat. Mr. Phan (ie Vu Ngoc Phan) tasted a piece of duck meat with spinach leaves and all the above spices, then slowly chewed to recognize that combined flavor.

He said: “That’s right, son, water spinach makes duck meat delicious, rich in flavor, it is an assistant to duck meat, no other vegetable can replace it”. He also added: “People say eat in the North, dress in the South, but now it seems that the food of the Central region is also very special”. The next day, when leaving, writer Vu Ngoc Phan did not forget to ask for a water spinach plant, tied the roots carefully, and brought it back to the North to plant in his garden.

It should also be mentioned that scholar Phan Khoi lived far away from Quang Nam for many years and tasted many delicious dishes from all over the country, but he was always "loyal" to his hometown's specialties and wanted to promote "Central cuisine" to the outside world. How precious is the heart of a son of Quang Nam!

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nguoi-quang-ba-rau-tan-xu-quang-3308958.html