Delicious 'hammered dishes' in Nghe An

Troi is a perennial woody plant, tens of meters high, found in many gardens, hills, and forests in Anh Son and Thanh Chuong districts... Troi flowers in spring and bears fruit in autumn.

The fruit is as big as a persimmon, shaped like an upside-down bowl, the skin is rough like a custard apple, when young it is green and when ripe it turns dark brown. Inside the fruit there are large seeds, heart-shaped seeds, delicious, fatty and a favorite dish of many people.

The tree sprouts. Photo: Huy Thu

In the past, when the budding season came, the fruits fell all over the ground, and the locals just had to go up the hill to pick up the fallen fruits and boil them to eat. Now budding has become a specialty, the demand for budding fruits is high, many people hunt for them, so "the budding fruits don't have time to fall".

Every time the growing season comes, everyone gathers to pick the fruit. Short trees are easy to pick, but tall trees require climbing and using poles to poke. Picking the growing fruit is as hard as picking canarium. On rainy days, the tree trunks are quite slippery and difficult to climb, so the pickers have to stand under the tree and poke upwards.

Fresh gourd. Photo: Huy Thu

The ripe Troi fruit looks like gray-brown stones, about 30 fruits per kg, at first glance, no one would think it is a delicious dish. Eating Troi fruit is also very elaborate, requiring the mobilization of all kinds of tools such as pots, hammers, cutting boards, etc. After picking the Troi fruit, it is put into a pot and boiled for nearly 1 hour under high heat until cooked, drained and then taken out to be "processed".

Because the seed has a thick, hard shell like a canarium seed, to eat the kernel inside, the seed must be broken. Local people often use many ways to break the seed, but the most common and safest way is to use a hammer to break it. Place the seed on a rock or cutting board, and use a hammer to break it into many pieces.

Cracking the seeds requires practice, so that they “break properly”, without falling or breaking. When the seeds break, people use bamboo sticks or toothpicks to separate the kernel from the shell to enjoy. The dish of cracked seeds has long been associated with a hammer, so people often jokingly call it “dish with hammer”.

Dried fruit. Photo: Huy Thu

The fruit of the Troi tree has a characteristic fatty, delicious taste that attracts people to eat it. Those who eat it will remember it forever. According to folk experience, the ripe Troi tree fruit that falls at the base is more delicious than the Troi tree fruit picked from the tree. The older the fruit, the more fatty and delicious it is.

In areas where there are poplars, children are the first to discover poplars each time the fruit falls. In the past, children in the mountainous communes of Anh Son often went up the mountain together to pick poplars to exchange for books for their studies.

To eat the fruit, you must use a hammer to hit it. Photo: Huy Thu

Currently, the fruit of Troi is being thoroughly harvested by the people. In Anh Son, Troi is abundant in Hoa Son, Tuong Son, Phuc Son communes... In these places, a team of people has been formed who specialize in picking Troi fruit to sell. From a fruit to "eat for fun", Troi has become a specialty of the mountainous region, a product that is actively sought after by traders.

The kernels are fatty, delicious, and have a distinctive aroma that is very appealing to diners. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Tran Thi Duyen (26 years old) in Duc Son commune - a specialist in trading in seeds said that during this time, she has to drive around Anh Son district every day to collect seeds, however, seeds are becoming increasingly rare because of the large number of buyers. The demand for seeds is high, while the supply is limited, mainly from harvesting seeds in the wild.

Currently, Troi is not only consumed locally but also transferred, sent far away and imported for traders to sell to China. The price of Troi seeds is fluctuating from 16 - 18,000 VND/kg.

Anh Son forest sprouts have long been familiar to local people, but are still new to many people. Along with gai cake, gay tea... "hammered food" has been and is one of the attractive gifts of Anh Son people far from home.