What kind of wild vegetable is the yellow apricot flower during the flood season that traders compete to buy whenever they pick it in Long An?

Mr. Nguyen Van Tung Sau (Vinh Tri commune, Vinh Hung district, Long An province) confided: "During the flood season, we often row boats to pick sesbania flowers, earning about 200,000 VND/day. This season, sesbania flowers cost from 30,000-40,000 VND/kg".

The flood season not only brings fish and shrimp but also wild vegetables such as water mimosa, water chives, water lilies, spinach, etc., which also grow, creating a unique feature of the river delta region.

The flood means people have extra income from flood season products.

"Yellow Apricot" in flood season

The flood season is also the time when the scenery of the West is most vibrant. There is not only the bustling scene of people going fishing but everywhere, from the canal banks, pond banks, rice fields, ... everywhere is covered with the yellow color of clusters of wild sesban flowers mixed with the image of people picking wild sesban flowers to sell or use to prepare dishes for their families. Wild sesban is likened to "yellow apricot" in the flood season.

Sesbania flowers often bloom when the water returns, and can be processed into many attractive dishes such as sour fish soup with sesbania flowers, stir-fried sesbania flowers with garlic, sesbania flower salad with freshwater shrimp, sesbania flower hotpot with fish sauce, sesbania flower pancakes,...

When enjoying dishes made from the wild cotton flower, it is probably difficult to forget the characteristic flavor of this wild cotton.

The wild cotton flower is a specialty vegetable of the flood season, likened to "yellow apricot blossom of the flood season" in Long An.

To pick the flowers, people row their boats to the fields early in the morning and choose the buds. When the sun comes up, the flowers will bloom and lose their sweetness and crispness when cooked.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tung Sau (Vinh Tri commune, Vinh Hung district, Long An province) confided: "During the flood season, we often row boats to pick sesbania flowers, earning about 200,000 VND/day. This season, sesbania flowers cost from 30,000-40,000 VND/kg".

When the water returns, the fields are filled with the yellow color of the sesban flowers and this type of cotton brings people a decent income.

Stable income from picking vegetables

When talking about the specialties of field vegetables in the flood season, it would be a mistake not to mention water chives, field spinach, water lilies, etc. Of course, these vegetables also appear in the dry season, but they are more abundant in the flood season.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thy has a stable income from picking water lilies and water chives during the flood season.

Grasping this need, many farmers take advantage of the flood season to earn extra income and improve their lives. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thy (Vinh Dai commune, Tan Hung district) said: “Water chives often grow in places with alum soil, while water lilies often grow in low-lying areas and only bloom at night; during the day, water lilies will wither and then sink into the water.

When the water comes back, the chives grow well again, and the water lilies also grow with the water. A month ago, I earned over 400,000 VND/day by selling chives and water lilies. On average, chives cost 25,000 VND/kg, and water lilies cost 20,000 VND/bunch of about 100 flowers.

Similar to Ms. Thy, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung (Vinh Dai commune, Tan Hung district) also has a stable income from selling water chives. On average, he picks 20-30kg/day, depending on the quantity ordered by traders. Mr. Hung confided: “Picking water chives is very hard work, having to soak in the water. Picking continuously for several days will cause water to eat away at your hands and feet. However, picking water chives is also a livelihood during the flood season, on average I earn over 500,000 VND/day”.

Ms. Ho Thi Lan harvests water mimosa to weigh for traders. Water mimosa sells for 12,000 VND/kg.

Many people believe that wild water spinach grown during the flood season will be more fragrant and sweeter than cultivated water spinach, especially without having to worry about pesticide residues. Therefore, in recent years, Mrs. Ho Thi Lan's family (Vinh Tri commune, Vinh Hung district) has taken advantage of the Lo Gach canal to grow water spinach during the flood season.

Ms. Lan said: “Wooden water spinach is suitable for growing in places with "running water". When grown during the flood season, the water spinach grows quickly, with large, crispy stems. I often pick the water spinach at 1am to weigh it for traders because when picked early in the morning, the water spinach is still fresh, so traders really like it. On average, I pick 40-50kg/day, selling for 12,000 VND/kg. In addition to the income from water spinach, I also have income from picking water spinach and selling it for 4,000 VND/kg.”

The flood season more or less brings income to people, including picking wild vegetables. Now, wild vegetables are not only a rustic dish but have become a specialty of the river delta region and are favored by many "urban" people.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mai-vang-mua-nuoc-noi-thuc-ra-la-thu-rau-dai-gi-ma-o-long-an-he-hai-thuong-lai-tranh-nhau-mua-20241105132652189.htm