Sweet potato leaf cake during epidemic

Sweet potato leaves are cheap in the countryside and require little care. Just let them "feed" on the fertilizer and water of squash. They are mainly grown to add green vegetables to family meals.

Mom said, taking care of squash is extremely difficult, watering twice a day and fertilizing. Taking care of each squash root meticulously from the time it first sprouts until the day it bears fruit, but it is still damaged by pests and diseases. Sweet potato leaves do not require much care but still grow rapidly, lush and green. Each vine is plump and spreads across the land. There are years when the weather is not favorable, all kinds of vegetables die en masse, fruits and tubers are almost lost; only sweet potato leaves are still healthy, still lush and green.

Sweet potato leaves are popular because they contain a lot of nutrients, help laxative, cool the body. Not only that, dishes made from sweet potato leaves are also simple and not fussy, complicated, not difficult for the cook. In the countryside, people often boil sweet potato leaves and dip them in fish sauce, delicious and not boring. Another simple recipe is to cook sweet potato leaves soup, seasoned with spices available on the kitchen shelf such as fish sauce, pork fat. That alone is enough to soothe the hot summer weather.

In recent months, following the policy of avoiding large gatherings and limiting going out when not necessary during the unpredictable developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, my mother did not go to the market and flexibly changed dishes with sweet potato leaves such as sweet potato salad, stir-fried sweet potato leaves with garlic, stir-fried mushrooms, etc. Among the dishes during the pandemic, the most impressive to us was my mother's unique sweet potato cake.

Making sweet potato cake is not too difficult, just a little complicated. Mom chooses the young and green leaves, washes them, blanches them in boiling water for two minutes, then takes them out and drains them. Wait for the leaves to cool and chop them finely. Beat two or three duck eggs (or chicken eggs) into the cornstarch and water in the right proportion. Stir until the dough is smooth and thick, with no lumps and the sweet potato leaves mixed in the dough. If the dough is dry, add more water. Continue adding sweet potato leaves, season to taste. Heat peanut oil, pour in ladles of sweet potato leaves cake, and fry slowly over low heat. When the bottom of the cake is golden brown, flip the cake over and fry until the other side is cooked. Once the cake is cooked, put it on a plate, cut into pretty triangles to enjoy.

When I was a child, I loved my mother's sweet potato leaf cake because it was soft, fragrant, and had a unique flavor. Sweet potato leaf cake can be the main dish for a family meal or a snack. Enjoying sweet potato leaf cake, in addition to changing the taste, is also a way to help us save time, money, and remember a difficult time in the past to appreciate the present more.

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