The Northwest is not only known for its majestic mountains, unique customs and practices, … but also for its extremely strange cuisine that makes everyone excited. In addition to the specialties that we know well such as bitter bamboo shoots, grilled fish in Pa Tinh top, … grilled moss is also a name that cannot be ignored.
The moss used for baking is the moss taken from the stream, so in order to harvest, people must definitely go down to the stream, based on their experience to get the moss and prepare it before they can eat it. Spring moss in season is the autumn – winter season, after taking it, there are many processing steps before it can be used for cooking. After preliminary processing, the moss is squeezed dry, marinated with mac Khen, onion leaves, paprika, fresh ginger, finely chopped lemongrass, monosodium glutamate, monosodium glutamate, and salt, then wrapped with seaweed leaves and grilled next to the stove or buried in charcoal.
If the grilled spring moss is drier, the flavor will become richer and more fragrant. When enjoying, eaters must feel both from taste and smell. The pungent taste from fresh ginger, the pungent taste from the mac Khen, the fragrant aroma from the chopped lemongrass and the characteristic aroma like new sticky rice from seaweed leaves,… All have created an attractive dish that makes people eat. feeling numb at the tip of the tongue.
In addition to baking, stream moss can also be processed into soup, mannequin, … or can also be dried and then grilled and dipped with high water from sour bamboo shoots.
People divide stream moss into 3 types: green moss growing apart, moss growing on dark rocks and moss growing in streams. Young and clean moss will often grow in rock crevices, where there are fast-flowing waters. December to December is the season when moss grows and proliferates. However, the life cycle of moss is not long, so people in the Northwest often have to take advantage of time to harvest.
People here will put moss on wide, smooth rocks and then use wooden sticks and bamboo sticks to beat and pick up moss, gravel, and gravel. Next, people put in musk – a tool specializing in washing vegetables of the people here, to wash it until the water is clear, then incubate with salt for about 15 minutes, then wash it again. After the moss has been thoroughly cleaned, it is dried and used as food to store in the winter.
Collecting moss is also one of the very interesting cultural features of the people here. At the right time of the season, going to the Northwest, you will see stream moss sold by many people along the way, in markets, helping to adorn the culture of the Northwest ethnic group.
Spring moss is rich in fiber, so it can be eaten instead of vegetables. In each meal or on the wine tray of the people here, if there are more mosses from the stream, it will definitely make the meal more delicious and diverse.
If you have the opportunity to set foot in the Northwest mountains, especially in the season with stream moss, do not forget to enjoy the taste of grilled stream moss to make your trip more meaningful and interesting!
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