Wild vegetables on the street

When the first rains of the season water the Dak Lak plateau, it is also the beginning of the wild vegetable season. Bundles of wild vegetables picked from the forest edges and stream banks are placed in baskets, followed by people to the streets and become specialties sought after by many people.

Walking around the small markets in the central wards of the province these days, we can easily see the image of women and mothers with baskets full of wild vegetables. There are dark green wild bitter melons, plump fig leaves, young green young shoots of star fruit or fresh bamboo shoots, and neat bundles of fern shoots. The quantity is small, the price of wild vegetables is also much higher than that of mass-grown vegetables, but they are still sought after by people. Because, these "gifts from nature" always have their own qualities and special flavors that make those who enjoy them remember them after just one try.

Betel leaves are a popular wild vegetable at the stall of Mrs. H Tien Nie, Ea Kao ward.

For those who eat it for the first time, the taste of wild vegetables can be a bit strange, a bit astringent or pungent. After a few times, you will gradually get used to it and then become "addicted" without realizing it. There are people who wander from Buon Ma Thuot central market to Tan Thanh market and then to Ea Tam market to buy a bunch of wild vegetables but still cannot buy them. But sometimes, by chance, on the way back, passing Ale A village (Ea Kao ward), they see Mrs. H Tien Nie unloading bunches of vegetables from her basket to sell when it is almost dark.

Ms. H Tien Nie shared: Wild vegetables are the main food of the people and they only pick enough to eat and can share with the villagers. But if there are many vegetables, if they are not picked, the vegetables will become old. On the contrary, the more the vegetables are picked, the younger they become and the more shoots they sprout, so people pick them and bring them to the city to sell or exchange for dried fish, salt, rice... Thanks to that, wild vegetables are gradually known and favored by urban people, and their value is increasing day by day.

The rainy season is the season of wild vegetables in Dak Lak .

Ms. Phan Thi Hong, an employee of a restaurant on Nguyen Khuyen Street (Buon Ma Thuot Ward) shared: " Tourists and locals both love dishes made from wild vegetables such as: wild vegetables stir-fried with garlic, betel leaf soup, wild vegetables boiled with fish sauce... The store connects with some people who often sell wild vegetables in Ako Dhong village, Ale A village... to place orders to ensure quality ingredients to keep customers coming back."

In addition to being used as main ingredients, wild vegetables are also indispensable ingredients in traditional dishes, creating the unique flavor of Dak Lak cuisine . For example, the aromatic leaves of the basil plant are used to marinate meat, add to bitter eggplant dishes, and as a spice to make salted fish with basil leaves. Giang leaves create a sour taste for fish soup, chicken soup, etc.

Overcoming the rusticity, Dak Lak wild vegetables have become a specialty with a strong local identity, infiltrating every meal of the people and conquering even diners from far away. Enjoying dishes from the forest is not only a culinary experience, but also a journey of cultural discovery, where each person finds and feels the quintessence of the mountains, forests, people and hospitable land of Dak Lak.

Thanh Truc

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202509/rau-rung-ra-pho-cda1019/