Anyone who has gone through a barefoot time, more or less, will keep for themselves memories in the memory of that childhood. For me, forever imprinted in the land of the skin, filled with it, is the soup of field crabs cooked with grass leaves in Tho Ha ancient village. Weed is also known by other names such as grass frequency, four chlorophyll, self-priming, night grass, etc. It is a semi-aquatic grass that looks like earth tamarind. Thin rhizomes crawl across the mud surface. At each node grows a group of two leaves with stalks 5 – 20cm long, from the base of each leaf grows a bunch of auxiliary roots. Weeds often grow on the banks of ditches, ponds, and fields with fresh water. They do not reproduce by seeds, but by spores.
With strong vitality, weeds often grow in clusters and then gradually spread throughout the field. According to Oriental medicine, the grass has a sweet, slightly bitter taste, and is sold to the heart and spleen meridians; has the effect of clearing heat, diuretic, swelling, detoxifying … But for farmers, weeds only bring trouble because their existence will overwhelm the growth and development of rice plants. Therefore, weed, like other grasses, is considered an enemy of the farmer. However, when used and processed properly, it is referred to as the more friendly name “spinach”. Not only is it an effective herbal medicine, it is also combined to create delicious dishes. Besides the dish of perch cooked with vegetables, it must be mentioned the crab soup cooked with vegetables. The miserable life in the poor countryside but having a bowl of crab soup cooked with vegetables in every meal is like enjoying a “specialty” of the country.
When I was a child in Tho Ha ancient village, I still followed my mother to the fields. When the rainy season comes, field crabs multiply and become greasy. Vegetables also become green after months of drought and fake death. I looked at the weeds and craved my mother’s crab soup. Seeing me slyly suggestive, my mother smiled in agreement. And so, after the field work, while I went around the fields to collect the strong fat crabs with opaque gray shells still lying in the cave, my mother diligently went to pick up vegetables to get a good amount of vegetables. delicious coriander leaves, enough to cook a pot of soup for the whole family to enjoy.
Before processing, the mother soaked the vegetables in salt water for a period of time to lessen the fishy smell of the mud. The crabs are cleaned, peeled off the shells and bibs, then put in the mortar to puree and filter the water. After preparing, my mother put the pot of crab water on the stove to wait for it to boil, then seasoned to taste, then put the vegetables in. Just a minute later, Mom lifted the pot right away. Mother explained, doing so will not make the leaves soft, keep the natural green color, will eat sweeter and more delicious.
The meal that day in Tho Ha ancient village, I ate until my stomach was full. Vegetables eat fleshy, sweet like spinach, slightly sour taste of tamarind, fishy smell of lettuce… All those flavors blend into the fatty aroma of field crabs, it’s not easy to forget. The scent of homeland in the bowl of grass crab soup, adding a few salted eggplants to each meal of the poor family, yet the problem, anchored in me until now.
Rainy season is back in Tho Ha ancient village. My mother still goes to the fields to continue the crops. Mom called and said: “Our rice fields are very weed this year”! Just hearing that, suddenly appeared in my mind the figure of my mother stooping in the middle of the field to pick leaves, next to it was a ten-year-old girl struggling to find a cave to catch crabs… and finally a pot of sweet crab soup during the meal. family. How much I miss and love my mother!
