The scent of the forest

A meal with the taste of the mountains and forests. Photo: Dieu Thong

My two colleagues and I chose to go against the city to find the forest. We crossed many hills, streams, and rocky banks to go deep into the green of the great forest.

After nearly two hours of cutting through the forest, everyone was drenched in sweat. The damp smell of rotting leaves and moss began to waft around. Instead of the dense bushes of wild trees like the section just past the edge of the forest, giant tree trunks appeared with rough, knobby trunks and a thick layer of moss and vines covering them.

The first leg was curious, the morning was cold, the second leg was dim, exhausted, and dark. And the final destination after a day of wandering through the forest was the corner of the stilt house whose owners, a Kinh couple, had chosen to leave the city for the forest a few years ago.

With tears in our eyes, we looked at the tray of food served with soup, vegetables, and meat. In our hunger, everyone hurriedly scooped rice and food into their bowls, but were still alert enough to fully appreciate the scent of the forest.

Unlike the plump, young leaves that are stimulated and carefully fertilized like in the plains, the sweet potato shoots on the tray of rice in front of us have a thin, fibrous shape, with pointed leaves. When boiled, they have a deep green color, bringing a bitter taste. When mixed with the chili and garlic fish sauce, the taste becomes deeper and more profound.

When craving, every dish is attractive but the most attention-grabbing is still the fried fish dish. According to the host, this fish has a very strange name - cool fish.

The fish only lives in clean water sources, eating algae and aquatic species, small snails. The fish has firm meat, soft bones, and can be processed into many different dishes such as soup, braised, grilled, and made into cheo. With braised fish, before marinating with spices, the chef will clean the intestines, leaving the scales intact, then clamp the fish in bamboo strips and grill it over charcoal to give the fish a fragrant aroma.

All around was desolate, darkness poured in, covering the trees and leaves outside in a pitch black color. The light from the lamps inside the house was even more prominent, attracting swarms of insects. They flapped their wings incessantly as if they were attending a dance.

After a while of eating, the hunger gradually subsided, each chopstick was picked up carefully, each person slowly continued to fully enjoy the taste of the mountains and forests. Each piece of fish was chewy and sweet, each shoot of sweet potato was bitter, the bamboo shoots were crunchy, eaten with hot rice cooked from upland rice, the dry grains were separate but when chewed carefully, it was fatty and fragrant.

Amidst the mountainous landscape, with darkness covering all sides, my companions and I were not surprised when the meal with basic dishes brought a more lingering and nostalgic taste than any other party or delicious and exotic food we had ever enjoyed.

Every taste and memory of that quiet night, even now, when I recall it, still makes me emotional. There, there was a meal in the forest that helped the lost person's steps to recover, gradually becoming stronger.

At the end of a tiring journey, perhaps everyone needs to hold on to something beautiful to continue the journey!

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/rung-rung-huong-rung-3145437.html