Remember boiled cassava shoots

The weather has been terribly hot for the past few months, but this morning it rained. The heavy rain cooled the plants and soothed people's hearts. I walked home in the rain and saw my mother picking the green cassava shoots, the result of my parents' cultivation over the past few months. My mother said that it had been raining continuously for the past few days, so she picked the green cassava shoots to boil for the whole family to eat. Hearing that, I felt restless, thinking back to my childhood.

Boiled cassava shoots, a delicious family dish

At that time, my family's life was difficult, the simple thatched house next to the river was the family's shelter. Life was difficult but my parents never let us lack anything, in meals they always gave us the best part. At that time, almost every family used the surrounding land to grow vegetables, cassava, sweet potatoes and my family was no exception. The young rainy season cassava shoots were round, plump, and dark green. My mother said that boiled cassava shoots must be eaten with soy sauce or caramelized fish sauce to be delicious. After picking the cassava shoots, my mother washed them, put a pot of boiling water on the stove and boiled them. The young green patches of the cassava shoots turned a slightly darker color. When the vegetables were cooked, my mother took them out and drained them. My mother put a pot of fish sauce and caramelized fish sauce to eat with the boiled cassava shoots, the smell of the caramelized fish sauce made everyone hungry. The meal was served simply with a plate of boiled cassava shoots, a pot of caramelized fish sauce made my sisters and I eat ravenously, everyone was full but still wanted to eat.

Cassava shoots are used by many people as a dish for their families.

I remember my mother often told me about the years of famine when there were no cassava to eat. That Tet, my grandmother was given some cassava by the neighbors. She bragged that this year's Tet was a happy one, but on normal days, she picked cassava shoots to eat as a snack, one part rice, six or seven parts vegetables. Anyone who has ever eaten cassava shoots knows that it has a distinctive, nutty, slightly bitter smell, but if you eat it often, you will become addicted. In the past, when families were poor and had many children, they only needed to add a bowl of fish sauce mixed with boiled eggs or fish sauce mixed with chili to have a delicious meal.

Once associated with the childhood of many people, no one thought that young cassava shoots could be used to prepare a series of delicious rustic dishes. Cassava shoots are also considered a nutritious green vegetable. In many localities, young cassava shoots can be prepared in dishes such as stir-fried with garlic, boiled, pickled...

For me, the boiled cassava shoots dish of that day has now become an unforgettable memory, mentioned and missed dearly.

Article and photos: THUY TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nho-dot-khoai-mi-luoc-a424377.html