Miss the taste of cassava from home

The simple tapioca starch dish is a useful medicine. After drinking it, my daughter's fever subsided and her skin gradually became cooler. Looking at the bowl of tapioca starch, my heart suddenly felt uneasy...

Kudzu is the type of plant that people in my hometown choose to develop the family economy. According to my father's explanation, kudzu is not only easy to grow, requires little care, has few pests and diseases, but also does not require much capital to invest like some other types of plants.

My father, when he was alive, often jokingly called this plant “the condensed essence of heaven and earth at the change of seasons”. This name, when you think about it, is quite reasonable. Because this plant grows in the backyard, it does not need to be carefully tended, but any part of the plant can be harvested and used.

Every time the season of kudzu flowers comes, my mother often picks some flowers, roasts them until golden brown, and dries them. My mother has some knowledge of medicine, so she knows that the flowers and kudzu roots are very good for cooling, detoxifying, and curing hangovers.

In addition, kudzu is also used to treat colds, mouth ulcers, headaches, pimples, constipation, and prevent heat rash caused by hot weather...

Waiting until mid-spring, when the rice fields are in full bloom, farmers' field work becomes more leisurely, is also the right time for each family to harvest cassava.

My mother always saved the big tubers, cut them into small pieces and boiled them for my sisters and I to enjoy first. Boiling cassava is actually very simple, there is no “secret”.

According to my mother's experience, you just need to choose old, hard cassava roots to have more starch and sweet water. Boiled cassava root dish impresses with its natural purity from the inherent sweetness and characteristic aroma.

Kudzu root should be eaten cold. Just chew slowly and thoroughly to feel the delicious flavor, extremely smooth and soft as if melting in your mouth.

My mother put the remaining cassava in a bucket for my father to take to the district to grind into flour. When bringing the cassava home, my mother often took the opportunity to pour rainwater into separate buckets and filter it through several times from a thin cloth to a closed cloth.

My mother was careful, so the water in the flour water tank would be changed 3 to 4 times every morning, the flour would be white and not sour, the quality of the flour would be better. When the flour settled, my mother would scrape off the pure white flour and dry it under the dry sunlight behind the house.

When the powder was dry, my mother gently put it into jars, gave some to both sides of the family, and kept the rest for the family to use all year round.

Growing up and living far away from my family, I still miss the special taste of my hometown's cassava. It's just a pity that both my parents have passed away. Every time I return to my hometown, looking at the old house and the cassava garden my sister planted, I can't help but feel sad...

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