Linh Chieu water spinach in Phuc Tho, a vegetable offered to the king, and a special animal offered to the king, what is it?

Until now, the sweet, crispy, white taste of the rustic specialty Linh Chieu water spinach is still passed down by the locals here.

Famous specialties far and wide

When it comes to Linh Chieu water spinach, many elders in the area still confirm that this product, though common, is famously delicious.

By chance, while searching for strange things in the land of Doai with my colleagues, I found the origin of this most delicious specialty.

Strangely enough, when arriving in Phuc Tho, everyone knows about Linh Chieu water spinach, but to fully understand its origin, we had to wander around the village for a while, until we arrived at Mr. Kieu Van Son's house (Guardian of Sen Chieu Temple).

According to Mr. Son, the water spinach for the King originated from Sen Chieu commune, but more deeply, it originated from Thanh Chieu village. The ancient word is called Linh Chieu, translated into the national language is called Thanh Chieu. In the past, during the Nguyen Dynasty, Thanh Chieu village had a vegetable called rau duoi. Whenever the king had the opportunity to go from Hue , he often stopped by Son Tay citadel. At that time, this vegetable was sold at Son Tay market. After tasting it, finding it delicious, the King made a rule that Thanh Chieu would be brought to Hue every year to be presented to the King.

Mr. Son also said that the reason why the water spinach grown in this land has a delicious taste is because this place has an open-air spring and is fertilized by the fertile alluvium from the Red River. The soil and vegetable varieties are the secret to creating the sweet, crunchy taste of the water spinach offered to the King.

Boiled water spinach is crispy, sweet and has a rich flavor. The water used to boil the vegetables is clear green, not cloudy green or dark red like other water spinach.

Legend has it that the ancients had to be very meticulous in growing water spinach for the King. The newly sprouted water spinach shoots were inserted into large, hollow snail shells.

When harvesting, the vegetable is picked from the top part deep inside the snail shell. Because it is deep inside the shell, the vegetable top is white, twisted, and very beautiful... In addition, the vegetable stem is large and round, reaching high above the water surface, making the vegetable clean and not contaminated by water.

Asked about this detail, Mr. Son shared that each King's water spinach shoot when planted must be 40cm high, each shoot is planted 30-40cm apart. Meanwhile, normal water spinach is usually planted 15cm apart. The reason for planting vegetables like this is so that when the vegetables grow well, the shoots can grow tall while still ensuring smoothness.

The royal water spinach grown in Linh Chieu village (Phuc Tho district, Hanoi ) has large, long shoots, sparse leaves, and is crispy and sweet. Photo: PT

“Because growing vegetables is laborious and has low productivity, in the past, vegetables for the King were usually only eaten raw, that is, the vegetables were mixed with banana leaves, palm leaves, perilla, basil, etc.

But that vegetable is also strange, it always needs 20cm of water. Without 20cm of water, it will take root and cling to the soil, so when transplanting, it cannot be planted in shallow fields. People pick the vegetable and only bundle 12 shoots into a bunch" - Mr. Kieu Van Son said.

Preserving precious water spinach varieties

Proud of Sen Chieu hometown for having precious vegetable varieties, branded among the people, but now the people in the area cannot help but worry because the water spinach for the King has been crossbred and degraded a lot.

In addition, the cultivated area is also gradually shrinking. Talking about this, Mr. Phung Van Dung (Director of Sen Chieu Agricultural Cooperative) confided that although the King's water spinach is a very delicious agricultural product, farmers have not yet become rich from this specialty.

According to Mr. Dung, building a brand for this agricultural product is still facing many difficulties.

I remember, around 2008, 2009, there was a unit that came here to invest in seeds, capital, technology, and rented land from people to build a brand. But after a while, for many reasons, this "dream" had to be put on hold.

Unfinished from those years until now, only people spontaneously develop brands to supply the market.

“In the past, the Cooperative also managed vegetable brands. For a long time, it has not provided that service anymore. Currently, only a few households work directly with companies. The biggest difficulty is that the water spinach for the King has not been selected as an OCOP product.

In order to not lose the brand, we recently planned to specialize in growing water spinach on 2 hectares, but after asking for people's opinions, we found that we didn't have the manpower.

"The establishment of a water spinach growing area for the King is still facing many difficulties" - Mr. Phung Van Dung shared.

Ms. Kieu Thi Hang (one of the largest households specializing in growing water spinach for the King in the region) said that if you are diligent, growing water spinach still brings higher income than growing rice or other crops. According to Ms. Hang, the water spinach variety currently being cultivated has been somewhat crossbred.

Partly due to natural selection, partly due to productivity. However, according to Ms. Hang, this vegetable variety does not produce many branches after being harvested for sale for many years.

Each vegetable plant usually has only two branches, so the yield is not high. For example, a plot of land planted with strip vegetables can only harvest 100 bunches, but when planting another type of spinach on the same area, the harvest can be doubled, even tripled.

As a vegetable grower, Ms. Hang herself hopes that the brand of Tien Vua water spinach will be promoted to connect better product consumption; functional sectors will focus on investing in science and technology, helping farmers properly implement the production process of safe vegetables.

"We hope that the royal water spinach will not only be "famous" but will become a commodity with high economic value, helping farmers improve their lives" - Ms. Hang hopes.

Source: https://danviet.vn/rau-muong-linh-chieu-o-phuc-tho-rau-tien-vua-con-mot-con-dong-vat-dac-san-tien-vua-la-con-gi-20240831130026674.htm