On Phu Quy island (Binh Thuan province), there are many wild vegetables called rau le, wherever there is sand, they grow. Harvesting rau le (sam tree, rau sam cat) is also very easy, just go to the garden or walk along the coastal sand dunes for ten minutes and you will have a basket of delicious wild vegetables.
Our friend just had a 3-day, 2-night trip to Phu Quy Island. After this trip, he said that, in addition to the natural scenery and fresh seafood, he was very impressed with the soup made from a very unique vegetable.
After asking carefully, I found out that it was rau le, a type of wild vegetable that grows on Phu Quy island, not only used as food but also a precious medicine that nature has bestowed on this island.
On Phu Quy Island (Binh Thuan Province), this special vegetable is abundant, wherever there is sand, it grows. Harvesting individual vegetables is also very easy.
Just go to the garden or walk along the coastal sand dunes for a few minutes and you will have a basket of vegetables. Here, people mainly pick these wild vegetables for their own use, and rarely buy them; and they are also cheap, about 20,000 VND for a kilo of vegetables.
The odd vegetable grows naturally, thanks to rain and night dew. When the dry season fades, when it rains, it sprouts clusters of fresh green leaves without any care. If in the home garden, where there is moisture, rotten leaves and enough sunlight, it can live all year round.
Through observation, it is seen that this wild vegetable grows in clusters, about 7 - 8 cm above the ground. At each base, 2 or 3 long, thread-shaped creeping stems can grow; each creeping stem is divided into many segments.
At each node, there are roots that grow into the ground and grow into a separate plant, and so on, spreading and running forever. When pulled up, the roots are long, big, and pale yellow. When the odd vegetable blooms, it has yellow flowers, like chrysanthemums.
A bush of wild herbs - a delicious specialty vegetable on Phu Quy Island, Binh Thuan Province. Wild herbs are also called cat ginseng.
After picking, the odd vegetables can be washed and eaten raw with fried fish, boiled and dipped in braised fish, or cooked in shrimp soup, all of which are delicious. The roots can also be dried, roasted, and boiled in water, and used as a refreshing drink.
The writer of this article is also a “veteran” on Phu Quy Island, has eaten this vegetable many times but has paid little attention to it. Now, someone complimented it, so I looked it up and learned that it is called Sa Sam – a precious medicinal herb.
According to Professor Do Tat Loi in his work Vietnamese Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Science and Technology Publishing House, 1986), Sa = sand, a medicinal plant that has the same uses as ginseng but grows on coastal sand, so it is called sand ginseng.
The roots of the plant are used in oriental medicine to treat coughs, eliminate phlegm, and treat fever. The leaves are eaten raw like lettuce and to treat lymphatic diseases. The roots of the plant are boiled in water to drink to cool the lungs, moisten and promote urination. In Nha Trang, seafarers use this crushed plant to treat scratches.
According to information from the internet, currently in the Mekong Delta, especially in Ben Tre province, there has been investment in specialized cultivation of ginseng to process into functional foods and cosmetics for export.
Source: https://danviet.vn/dac-san-binh-thuan-dao-phu-quy-cach-bo-56-hai-ly-co-rau-dai-ten-rau-le-sam-cat-an-ngon-hon-thit-20250228202401291.htm
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