Food & Receipts

Wild-growing plant on walls with iron content comparable to beef, priced at nearly 200,000 VND/kg

This wild-growing tree used to be consumed only by the poor, but now it has become a delicacy sought after by city dwellers.

Administrator

8 December, 2023

170

Cang Cua is a popular countryside vegetable that many people love. In the past, Cang Cua grew wild in gardens, on walls, and between rocks, and poor villagers would pick it to eat. But nowadays, this vegetable is well-known and its price has skyrocketed.

Some organic vegetable sellers said that 1kg of organic Cang Cua can cost up to 180,000 Vietnamese dong. Despite the high price, there is still a shortage of Cang Cua in the market at times.

Cang Cua has watery stems, green leaves, a cool taste, and is suitable for making soups and salads. Besides its delicious flavor, Cang Cua also provides many nutrients. According to research, Cang Cua is rich in protein, fats, vitamin C, carotene, iron, potassium, and many other nutrients. It is also included in the list of vegetables recommended to be eaten regularly by experts.

This vegetable has the effect of clearing heat, resolving stagnation, diuresis, reducing swelling, etc. To make use of these properties, you can prepare the following dish.

Cang Cua Beef Salad

Ingredients

– Beef: 500g

– Beef marinating spices: Cooking oil, fish sauce, salt, pepper

– Minced garlic

– Thinly sliced spring onions

– Cang Cua: 700g

– Fried shallots

– Sliced garlic

– Cooking oil

– Salad dressing: 6 tablespoons of vinegar, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 6 tablespoons of water, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and chili.

– Roasted sesame/peanuts

Instructions

– After buying Cang Cua, rinse it thoroughly and drain it. If you’re careful, you can soak the vegetables in diluted saltwater for about 10 minutes to remove any remaining dirt.

– Slice the beef into thin slices and soak them in filtered water for about 30 minutes to remove excess blood. This step helps to eliminate any unpleasant odor from the beef and soften the meat.

– Marinate the beef with the prepared ingredients including cooking oil, salt, pepper, and a little fish sauce for about 10 minutes to allow them to absorb the flavors.

– Heat up cooking oil, sauté the sliced garlic until fragrant, then remove it.

– With the remaining garlic-infused oil, stir-fry the sliced spring onions, then add the marinated beef and stir-fry together. Since the beef slices are thin, they can quickly cook, so you need to be quick to avoid overcooking or undercooking certain parts. Additionally, the beef should only be partially cooked to retain its deliciousness. Remember to keep the heat high during the cooking process.

– Prepare the salad dressing by mixing 6 tablespoons of sugar, 6 tablespoons of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, and 6 tablespoons of water together. Finally, add the minced garlic and chili.

– Place the washed Cang Cua in a large bowl, add the stir-fried beef on top, and pour the prepared dressing over it. Mix everything quickly to take advantage of the heat from the beef. This way, the dish will have a pleasant aroma and taste.

– Finally, garnish with roasted peanuts/sesame, fried shallots, sliced garlic, and a few slices of chili.

Some tips for making a delicious Cang Cua beef salad

To have a delicious Cang Cua salad, you should note the following:

– Choose fresh Cang Cua that has not flowered yet, as they will be more tender and sweeter. If there are flowers, make sure to rinse them thoroughly because they may contain a lot of dirt. In addition, the flowers can emit a strong, pungent smell.

– Use fried garlic-infused oil to eliminate any strong smells from the Cang Cua.