Quý Dương
Locals in Vĩnh Phuc Province’s Thượng Trưng District are very proud of their rau rut or nhut, known as water mimosa in English, a green, reed-like vegetable that grows in freshwater ponds or lakes.
The vegetable has become a speciality for not only locals but also visitors to the province. They say they can see the beauty and soul of the countryside in the vegetable pond and a plate of boiled rau rut said 72-year-old Nguyễn Thị Hòa who owns several rau rut ponds.
The veggies can be cooked with pork ribs and local taros (which are as big as a big toe) or fry them with garlic. Many people prefer boiled rut veggie because it has a special aromatic flavour and fragrance, Hòa said, noting, however, that the boiling process takes skill.
Cooks should get only young rut veggie and carefully wash it before cutting it in 10cm lengths before putting it in a pot of boiling water for two minutes. The completed dish should be green in colour, sweet and soft, she said, warning that if it is overcooked it can turn into a yellow colour and be hard to bite.
It is best enjoyed dipped in Phu Quốc quality fish sauce and mixed with minced garlic, chilli and vinegar along with several salted pieces of bamboo. The dish is eaten with rice and other dishes such as fried pork belly or braised fish, Hòa said.
“All my family members like boiled rut veggies. They also like to pour the broth on rice to eat with pickled eggplants,” she said.
She said her veggies have been selling very well nowadays because many housewives buy it as specialities for big ceremonies such as wedding parties or family meetings and for the first and middle days of the lunar month celebrations.
“I often receive orders from customers to buy hundreds of bundles on such occasions.”
Locals love rut veggie cooked with crab soup and local taros, particularly during hot summers. Photo dienmayxanh.comShe said many of her villagers cook the vegetable with field crab soup to be eaten with rice vermicelli (known locally as bun cua rau rut). This dish sells very well at the market.
A customer named Hoang Thu Yến said she is addicted to the dish.
“I enjoy it every morning when I go to the market. It is healthy and tasty. I feel it helps to cool me down from the inside on hot summer days, it is also nutritious.”
Herbalist Hữu Nam from the Vĩnh Phuc Traditional Medicine Centre said the rut veggie has a sweet flavour and cold characteristics so it can treat many ailments such as inflammations, constipation, it helps to cool down the liver, and has a sedative effect.
It is very effective in treating a cold, goitre and dysentery, Nam says, adding that he is proud of the veggies because it has put Thượng Trưng District on the map. VNS
