(Baonghean.vn) – During the summer days in the western part of Nghe An province, visitors can enjoy refreshing local produce. These are truly "clean" products, grown by the highlanders themselves on their fields or sourced from deep within the forests.
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| On a hot summer day in the western part of Nghe An province, you can enjoy many refreshing "specialty" fruits grown by the local people in their fields. |
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| The peaches grown by the Hmong people in the high-altitude, cold climate are large, crisp, and sweet. During peach season, the locals take advantage of the opportunity to sell them at distant markets to earn extra income. |
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| The Hmong people also have a type of cucumber that is very popular because the fruit is large, fragrant, and refreshing to eat. |
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| Although the Hmong people's plums are nearing the end of their season, traders are still seeking to buy them. |
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| In Tuong Duong, mangoes are in the middle of their harvest season. |
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| Tuong Duong mangoes have long been favored by customers because of their small size but delicious aroma. |
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| Cantaloupe is also a clean fruit grown by local people in their fields and helps to cool down during the summer. |
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| The ripe, yellow papayas grown in the home garden are being sold. |
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| Besides homegrown fruits, the people in the mountainous regions also have many kinds of vegetables. The photo shows the young shoots of the Lụa Xán plant (called Húa Xán in Thai), a plant that grows under the canopy of tropical forests and is harvested by locals for sale. These shoots are used to make soup with betel leaves, and have a bitter-sweet taste. Mothers with young children also often cook these shoots with bones to increase their milk supply for breastfeeding. |
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| The most popular place to buy young shoots of the *Lysimachia nummularia* plant is along the roadsides in Cay Me village, Thach Giam commune, Tuong Duong district. |
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| Wild banana blossoms are used to prepare delicious dishes such as salads, stir-fried clams, stir-fried with lime leaves, and salted banana blossoms, which are popular among many people. They are also used as a medicine to treat many diseases. |
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| The shoots and flowers of the male papaya tree are often sold together with wild eggplant (which the Thais call "mac hanh"). Boiling these three together removes the bitterness from the papaya and makes a salad that is very good for digestion. You can easily find these products at Thai markets. |
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| male papaya flowers |
Dao Tho - Lu Phu
