It's raining, I miss my mom's braised water spinach strips with sour rice and crispy chili.

But on early summer days with torrential rains, or early autumn days with drizzling rains, when the weather is cool, water spinach is in full bloom.

Early in the morning, my mother often wore a patched raincoat at the shop on the luxurious Hang Dao street during the subsidy period, put on a dark old conical hat, and clattered open the latch of the wooden gate behind the house facing Phat Loc alley ( Hanoi ). She walked in her wooden clogs, and chewed a piece of betel to warm her stomach.

Missing mom, missing the delicious food mom cooked

That was her going to Hang Be market. It was drizzling, the water spinach was young and lush, the bundles were as big as straw bundles. The water spinach sellers were familiar faces from Lang village, Mo village, Mrs. Ro, Mrs. Toet calling out to each other. But my mother only greeted her briefly. Because she wanted to find some bunches of white-striped water spinach brought back by the farmers from the suburbs of Thanh Tri and Tu Liem.

Those ladies often sit at the end of Cau Go alley turning into Trung Yen alley, along with a few ladies who secretly sell country pork, roasted grasshoppers, country rice, country eggs, etc. They gather there so that if they get whistled at, they can grab their baskets and run away quickly.

My mother picked some bunches of white water spinach: "For white water spinach, simmer it with chili for a long time so that it absorbs the chili, it will still be crispy and have a beautiful yellow color." I asked again: "Then why did you tell your sisters to buy red water spinach?"

My mother said: "Ah, red water spinach will soften quickly when boiled and taste delicious. The boiled water has a beautiful pink color. Add a few star fruit to make the water clearer. But red water spinach stewed with fermented rice or star fruit will be less crispy. And the color will be dark and not beautiful."

I asked again: "Why do we rarely eat water spinach on normal days, Mom?". Mom replied: "It's because in the rainy season, the water in the ponds rises, the water is clean, the water spinach grows very well, long, clean and young. Mom told you not to buy water spinach that is dark brown. That vegetable grows in dirty, rotten water, it's very poisonous."

Split white water spinach is delicious when eaten with crab soup, fish soup and other salads such as banana flowers, banana stems, perilla, and Vietnamese coriander. Boiled and mixed with fried shrimp, sesame, and peanuts is also very interesting.

When the weather is cool, my mother often fries garlic in fat over high heat, stir-fries vegetables until they are half-cooked, then filters the rice with a bowl of clean water, and mixes it with a block of dried shrimp paste wrapped in lotus leaves and tied with yellow straw bought from the market.

Filter the shrimp paste again to remove all dirt, then put it in the pan with a couple of chili peppers, cover for a while, and simmer over medium heat for about ten minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

The vegetables soaked in the sour water are turning from green to golden yellow. The chili peppers are glowing red. Add in some pieces of fried pork fat and a pinch of crushed garlic. Oh my, the aroma that rises up makes my stomach so hungry.

My mother flew away to the white clouds in the 7th lunar month of At Ty, now exactly 1/4 century. My sisters and I have all started our own families, have children and grandchildren, but for many years we have not enjoyed the taste of the special dishes that my mother used to cook.

This morning, I suddenly saw a row of white water spinach outside Nga Tu So wholesale market, and I missed my mother. I bought some, stewed a batch, took a picture, and sat down to write these lines. Tears welled up in my eyes.

In the past, my father loved this braised water spinach dish. He often sat on the mahogany bed, sipping a few glasses of wine with a meal served with only a plate of fried tofu and scallions. He chuckled and told my mother: "Give each of the children a few pieces of fried pork rinds, or they'll start to quarrel. How miserable!"

"Wait! Wait for me to pour rice for the little one and ladle the broth. He's pouting his beak here, then mash the chili. He can't eat it too spicy yet. Where's the oldest sister? Bring me the bowl of mash eggplant, then divide the pork fat among the siblings."

Oh, when will that old scene reappear in the 21st century? I miss it! I miss it so much!

Pinning a white rose on my chest, tears flowed down because I missed my mother . Another Vu Lan season of filial piety has come, and I am filled with sadness, as up to now, it has been the 10th time I have had to pin a white rose on my chest, because not only did I lose my father, I also lost my mother.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/troi-mua-nho-mon-rau-muong-dai-om-me-ot-gion-ngon-me-lam-2433583.html