Khmer people pick wild vegetables on Cam mountain and bring them to An Hao market to sell.
Many delicious vegetables
Early in the morning, the weather on Cam Mountain is covered with mist and fog. Occasionally, clouds drift down to the forest, then suddenly it rains lightly. Cam Mountain is like that, always clear and fresh, anyone who comes here once will remember the cool climate here forever. After the rain, wild vegetables grow everywhere. People say that the vegetables that grow on rocky mountains absorb the cool climate of the land and sky, so they are considered very nutritious herbs. After a walk on Cam Mountain, we turned right onto the pilgrimage road to Thien Tue. We met Mr. Nguyen Van Quoc who was bending over to pick wild vegetables to prepare for lunch. Picking each thorny luffa shoot, he boasted that this type of vegetable is picked and eaten by the people on the mountain every day.
Holding the newly picked luffa shoots, Mr. Quoc said that luffa shoots are considered a precious medicinal herb on Cam Mountain. For a long time, luffa shoots have good medicinal properties, specializing in treating liver diseases. Whenever there is a party, people go up the mountain to find luffa shoots to pick and treat guests. We held the luffa shoots and put them in our mouths to chew, it has a sweet, light taste and is easy to eat. Mr. Quoc smiled brightly: “In the past, luffa shoots grew a lot on Cam Mountain. Later, knowing that this type of plant has medicinal properties to treat liver diseases, many people from the plains went up the mountain to uproot and bring them back to charity herbal medicine establishments. Currently, luffa shoots are becoming rare on Cam Mountain. To find luffa shoots, you have to follow the stream banks or valleys. Because this type of herb likes to live in humid places.”
According to Mr. Quoc, the spiny gourd plant can be used to make any dish that is delicious and nutritious. Spiny gourd shoots stir-fried with fat have nutritional value that is not inferior to beef. Currently, people on the mountain often use spiny gourd to make soup or hot pot. In addition to spiny gourd with high medicinal value, Mr. Quoc also said that there are many delicious vegetables on the mountain, such as: Kim that, cang cua, dot choai, dot ngang nganh, kim tien thao... In the dry season, people clear land and burn fields. When heavy "old rains" pour down to cool the hills of Cam mountain, vegetables and tubers under the soil sprout luxuriantly.
Clean, good for health
Mr. Quoc added that there are countless types of kim that and cua vegetables growing on rocky mountains. Especially under the canopy of gardens and su trellises, this vegetable grows very strongly. To prove his truth, Mr. Quoc ran to the back of the garden to pull out young kim that and cua vegetables to show off. Up to now, when the rainy season begins, people in the mountains go into the forest or follow the stream to pick this vegetable to sell to the banh xeo shops on Cam Mountain to serve tourists. In addition, ethnic people in the plains also climb the mountain to pick this vegetable to bring down to the market to sell. The day we visited An Hao market located at the foot of Cam Mountain, we met Khmer people selling wild vegetables picked from the high mountains, including kim that.
Mrs. Neang Kham (52 years old, Khmer) was carrying a basket of wild vegetables down the slope of Cam mountain to sell at An Hao market. As soon as she saw me entering the market, Mrs. Neang Kham continuously invited me to buy kim that vegetables. The people here sell vegetables very honestly, without overcharging. Kim that vegetables are sold by Mrs. Neang Kham for 25,000 VND per kilo. This type of vegetable grows wild in the mountains, so it has a more fragrant aroma than kim that vegetables grown in the plains.
Ms. Tran Kim Anh (who has been selling banh xeo for 20 years on Cam Mountain) said that on this high mountain peak, there are 14 types of wild vegetables that are delicious and nutritious when eaten with banh xeo or cooked into soup. For a long time, Banh Xeo of Cam Mountain has been famous everywhere, thanks to the flavor of the famous wild vegetables growing on the mountain. Indeed, what makes Banh Xeo of Cam Mountain different is that it is eaten with many types of wild vegetables, such as: Kim That, Nganh Nganh, Kim Tien Thao, La Bang La Nui, Cang Cua, Cat Lo. Each type of vegetable has its own delicious flavor, both clean and medicinal. If visitors come to Cam Mountain to enjoy Banh Xeo with wild vegetables once, they will remember it forever.
Mr. Ut Thanh (Dinh Van Tuoi, 93 years old, living near Thuy Liem Lake) is a famous physician on Cam Mountain. Mr. Ut Thanh said that he has lived on this sacred mountain for more than 50 years. During that time, Mr. Ut Thanh knows very well about the vegetables and herbs on Cam Mountain. Under the canopy of his forest, Mr. Ut Thanh grows hundreds of precious herbs. Mr. Ut Thanh slowly said that on this mountain, every inch of soil and rock has herbs. Many wild vegetables are also classified as having medicinal properties that are beneficial to health...
Leaving Cam mountain, we went to Tri Ton market. This is the market where Khmer people bring wild vegetables picked from the top of Co To mountain to sell to the people. Walking around the market, there are about 10 places selling all kinds of wild vegetables. Stopping to buy the young shoots of Nganh Nganh, Mrs. Neang Bay happily said that every day she wakes up early to go to the mountain to pick wild vegetables to sell at Tri Ton market. This season, there is a lot of rain, wild vegetables grow well, every morning she picks 10kg, sits and sells retail at the market, earning an additional income of more than 200,000 VND. Not far away, we met Mrs. Thach Thi Minh selling wild vegetables, such as: Cang cua, kim that, cai troi, male papaya flowers... She affirmed that these vegetables are not fertilized or have pesticides, and are picked from Nam Vi mountain and Ta Pa hill, very good for health...
In the afternoon, the Seven Mountains were covered with dark clouds, and heavy rain continued to cool the mountains and forests. In the early morning, people continued to pick wild vegetables to serve tourists from afar. Now, the Seven Mountains wild vegetables are considered a quintessential gift from heaven and earth, contributing to the unique characteristics of the cuisine of the mountainous region of An Giang.
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/len-nui-an-rau-a423605.html
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