Braised potato buds

Braised potato buds are quite popular in Thanh Thuy district – Phu Tho.

Braised potato bud is a traditional dish of the people.

Potato buds here are not sweet potato buds, but buds of varieties with vertical (some places also known as sheaths or sepals) such as yams, galangal potatoes, sweet potatoes, spotted potatoes … which are common in the village. Every countryside has it, easy to grow, easy to take care of, and has many economic benefits and values.

The tuber is used for boiling or stir-frying to make soup. Along the way, potatoes are used to raise pigs, they often eat quickly. And the potato buds (except for the speckled potato, which is a very itchy potato that few users use) bring the soy sauce warehouse for us to eat very delicious soup, with a strong flavor of the countryside.

Potato buds that are not available all year round are only seasonal and for a very short time. Potatoes are usually grown from November of the previous lunar year to May next year, then harvest. The time from when the potato grows to mid-April, the potato grows and gives birth, so it is not picking buds. It was not until early May 1-2 weeks before harvest that they picked potato buds to both feed and for the dwarf potatoes to focus on nourishing the fat tubers.

To have sweet and non-itchy sweet potato buds, from preparation to cooking operations must be very meticulous, careful and attentive. Experience when picking potato buds is to choose the leaf buds that are still tightly wrapped and then bring them out to dry in the light sun for a little re (usually picking in the early morning, drying at noon to cook).

Before cooking, wash it and then fold it into a clay pot in layers, on the bow spread a turn of copper crabs, peeling off the bib and muzzle. Take 2 bamboo cross-pinned crossbones on the top of the pot so that the buds are not inflated when they boil. Take a delicious scoop of soy sauce, dilute with water, add the potato buds and cook. When effervescent, pay attention to reduce the heat, only give effervescent five. Absolutely do not immerse the chopsticks.

Watching when the water in the pot is exhausted gradually, use a water bath to dilute it with water with a little more lard (called row water), sometimes using a scoop to water it gradually. Just boil it almost dry and water the goods in, doing so from 4 to 5 times is nine. At this time, you can take the chopsticks dipped in to check the light salinity to adjust to fit. Then, depending on the large or small soup pot, more or less, you can add 1 or 2 longitudinal fruits that have been cooked, wash off the shells, seeds, then strip on top and add a little more water to cook. shallow is fine.

Lift down the pot and open the pot to cool down. When using the pin to lift the chopsticks, carefully pick each potato bud in the bowl, it looks like each potato bud on the outside is still hunted, but the inside is softly ripe, giving off a sweet aroma of vertical, crab, sweetness and flavor. typical taste of copper potatoes, it is unforgettable to eat.