About the "taro capital"
(Baonghean.vn) On this occasion, when going to the mountainous border district of Ky Son, most visitors from the lowlands buy some taro to eat or as gifts. Because this is the main harvest season, taro is at its most delicious and starchy.
Along National Highway 7A running through Muong Xen Town, this type of mountain potato is sold quite a lot at a price of around 10,000 VND/kg. If we have the opportunity to go through the roads to the villages, we often see Mong and Kho Mu women carrying heavy loads of taro from the fields to their homes or to sell in the Muong Xen area.
In Ky Son, taro is grown in the communes of Huoi Tu, Muong Long, Dooc May, Na Ngoi and Tay Son. These are high mountainous areas, where the Mong ethnic group lives. This means that taro plants here prefer high altitudes, cool climates and of course suitable soil conditions. At the end of the year, the weather was freezing cold, but we were still determined to ride our motorbikes over about 15km of mountain passes to Tay Son commune, one of the "capitals" of taro plants in Ky Son. On the way, we had to go through thick fog, mountain peaks and valleys covered with white clouds. Suddenly, I thought, could it be that the taro plants here also like to be nurtured in the fog and clouds?
The joy of a good taro harvest for the people of Huoi Giang 1 village
Tay Son commune (Ky Son)
It was almost noon, the land and mountains of Tay Son were still covered in white mist and clouds. When we asked about the planting, harvesting and consumption of taro products, we heard Mr. Vu Chong Di, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, lecture about this plant: “Here, most families grow taro for food, mainly for self-sufficiency. This plant is very difficult to grow, so you have to choose good land to grow it, often having to clear old forests or cover the land with straw or green manure and wait for it to decompose before planting. That way, the taro tubers will be big and starchy, and delicious to eat. If you fertilize it, regardless of manure or chemical fertilizer, the tubers may be big, but when you eat them, you will only see fiber, with very little starch. That way, 8 months of planting, fertilizing and harvesting will be wasted.” Suddenly I thought, this plant is really strange, why does it lose its nature when receiving nutrients from manure and chemical fertilizers, while most other agricultural plants give high yields?
Is it true that for generations, taro plants have been closely associated with the old forest, with the soil and the air, so they do not need any other source of nutrition? Then suddenly thinking of the simplicity, honesty and integrity of the people who are attached to the mountains and clouds all year round. When we asked about the total area of taro in the whole commune, Mr. Vu Chong Di said: "To be honest, it is impossible to accurately count the area, because every household grows it, some grow a little, some grow a lot, some grow near, some grow far. We only know that 6/6 villages grow taro, of which the most are Huoi Giang 1 village and Lu Thanh village."
Led by an office worker, we crossed several forests and climbed several slopes to find a family's taro field in Huoi Giang 1 village. The owner of the field is Ms. Mua Y Xia, this Mong woman's hands are nimbly using a shovel to dig up each taro bush, then picking up each round taro root and putting it in a basket. This taro field is about 500 square meters, located in a corner of a vast rice field that has been harvested, now only straw remains. Ms. Xia said: "Our family's field mainly grows rice, after each harvest season, we usually gather straw in a corner to wait for the next season to grow good taro. We grow mainly to serve our family's needs, not much to bring to Muong Xen to sell."
Around noon, when the fog began to clear, people from the fields returned to the village, we went to the house of Mr. Vu Chong Thong - Head of Huoi Giang 1 village. Mr. Thong happily received guests with a pot of just-boiled taro, holding it in his hand was hot, the steam rising up brought an attractive aroma to visitors from the lowlands. In the cold of the mountains and forests, and having just crossed a tiring journey, we felt warm and healthy when we ate the hot boiled taro, then enjoyed the sweet taste of cereal starch mixed with the scent of the soil and the forest, both near and far.
Mr. Thong generously said: “When I first learned to see, I saw taro in the corner of the house. Later, I asked my parents and grandparents, and they said the same thing. For generations, taro has always been attached to and present in Mong houses. It is a food to support when the rice in the house is exhausted. During the lean season, taro becomes the main food source for each family. In recent years, people have received rice relief from the State during the lean season, but no one has given up on growing taro.” Hearing that there were guests from the lowlands, Mrs. Thong made taro soup to treat them. The taro was peeled, washed, and chopped, cooked with Mong cabbage and a little pork bone. At this time, while enjoying the boiled taro, the sense of smell and taste could not ignore the extremely attractive taste of the taro soup prepared by the hands of Mong women. There was the nutty taste of taro, the fatty taste of meat, the sweet and refreshing taste of cabbage. These flavors blend together to create the unique flavor of taro soup.
After enjoying the taro and bone soup at Mr. Vu Chong Thong's house, we continued on our way to Lu Thanh village. The road from the commune center to Lu Thanh village is a bumpy dirt road along the hillsides, with deep abysses below and towering mountain peaks above. If you don't have experience riding a motorbike on forest roads, you certainly can't avoid feeling overwhelmed, even having to stop.
Visiting Mr. Mua Xai Co's house, we recounted our journey to the "capital of taro". Mr. Co immediately said: "So the journalist has eaten boiled taro and taro bone soup, now I will treat you to some taro". Having said that, Mua Xai Co told his wife to put aside pounding rice to serve taro to the guests. This Mong woman went to the corner of the house to choose small taro tubers, washed them, put them in the pot and then put them on the stove. The pot of the highlanders is made from the trunk of a hollowed-out tree. Seeing the guests paying close attention to the pot of wood, Mr. Co explained: "To preserve the flavor of sticky rice and taro, people here always use wooden pots and never use aluminum pots like in the lowlands".
After chatting for a while, the aroma wafted from the pot on the stove. Mrs. Co lifted the pot off the stove and spread the taro out onto a large basket. Mr. Co immediately said: “Let’s get started, taro must be eaten hot to be enjoyable.” Holding the pot that had just been potted, he exclaimed and then peeled it off. The aroma and basic flavor were similar to this type of potato when it was boiled. But after enjoying it, diners could easily tell that the taro prepared by potting was chewier and retained its aroma longer.
The sun was about to set below the mountain range in front of Lu Thanh village, we said goodbye to the host to leave, Mr. Mua Xai Co gently said: "It's almost dark, we can't go back, the fog is covering all the roads, it's very dangerous. Let's sleep here tonight, tonight we'll make fried taro". When the host said so, the guests couldn't refuse. A moment later, the host and his wife chose large taro tubers, washed them, peeled them, and cut them into thin slices. A large pan with a lot of fat was placed on the stove. When the fat boiled, Mrs. Co put each piece of chopped taro into the pan and sat there diligently waiting to flip each piece. A rich, fatty smell wafted from the stove. The meal was served, in addition to other foods, there was a large plate of fried taro on the tray. Mua Xai Co took out a bottle of wine and said: "This must be enjoyed with wine". Indeed, there is nothing better than drinking wine with crispy fried taro on a frosty winter night in the highlands of the border, because the fat of the taro and the hot taste of the yeast will dispel the cold of the land and sky. Mr. Co added: "This dish is quite popular among the Mong people in the winter, because it keeps the body warm." That meal lasted until late at night, when both the host and the guests were tipsy from the alcohol.
The next morning, although the fog had not yet cleared, we still decided to go down the mountain to Muong Xen. Here, we met Mr. Moong Van Nghe (74 years old, Khmu ethnic group), former Deputy Head of the Provincial Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Department. When he learned that we had just come from the "capital of taro" and had enjoyed the ways to prepare this type of potato, Mr. Moong Van Nghe immediately said: "For a long time, taro has also been used as an important medicine in Oriental medicine". Half believing, half doubting, looking it up on the Internet, some documents indeed confirmed that taro can support the treatment of some cases such as stomach pain, spleen tonic, body weakness, physical strength enhancement, nephritis, dysentery, muscle and bone pain... And then suddenly thought, could it be that the people in this highland border area have resilient health, have strong legs to climb passes, wade streams partly because they have been attached to taro all their lives, a food that is also a precious medicine?
Talking with Mr. Le Cong Tam, Head of the Department of Agriculture of Ky Son district, we learned that this year the whole district planted 80-90 hectares of taro with a total output of about 800-900 tons. Taro has been grown in Ky Son for a long time, recently exhibited in Hanoi and attracted much attention. Up to now, it has only been maintained at a small scale, and is one of the significant sources of income for the people in recent years. However, the district has no policy to expand the planting area because taro is a relatively "difficult" variety. If the area is expanded, it will affect the forest capital.
Cong Kien
