For generations, the M'nong people have always lived in the care and protection of the forest. The forest offers many precious food sources such as fresh vegetables, bamboo bud, rattan buds, bitter eggplant, birds and animals… including Tubers. It is not only help save hunger, but it also contains many nutrients, becoming a delicious dish to improve family meals. Many M'nong generations grew up from the sweet of Tuber.
The tubers tree belongs to the liana tree, same as yam species, it's smooth, slightly angular stem, red - pink, often carrying smalls bulbs in the leaf axils. The single or pairs tuber roots are penetrating the soil for many meters. The thin outer is gray - brown, fringed around small roots, and cover the tuber body like hairs…
The M'nong people like to boil the tubers to eat
The tuber is the most delicious around before and after Lunar new year, when the its root starts to fall and dry. This time, it grows huge, rich of starch and tastes best, sometimes it is big as adult biceps, nearly 2m long. It is also because of the tubers are embedded so deeply in the ground. So, the digger must have experience and effort, dig a big, deep hole to obtain an intact one.
When finding tuber. M'nong often choose the broken wire, leaving only a few leaves at the tip to dig. At that time, the tubers have ripe, large and starchy. People can eat raw or bake, boil or bake…. The tubers is rough outside, inside is ivory white. . After boiling, it is ripe, and taste good like sticky rice.
The tubers are peeled off the skin and mixed together with rice as potatoes. Nowadays, people life is getting better, people often peel the tuber, cook together with bone soup. The aroma, the rich of starch, with the sweet from bone soup can make the simple meal getting more delicious, not afraid of lack of nutrient, good for digestion.
The tubers are on the traditional meal of local people in Dak Nong Province.
Years of war, people life are meeting with too many difficult, tubers are the main food to feed soldiers, as many M'nong families in Dak Nong, it contains abundant nutrients and health benefits. Tuber is very close to M'nong Life.
Nowadays, life has changed a lots, indigenous ethic minorities in the province are no longer hungry. However, the tubers have imprinted on the subconscious of each person, is a delicious dish bestowed by mountains. The image of the ivory white tubers makes the traditional meal in festival of M'nong more fully...
(source: baodaknong.org.vn, Đ.H translated)