Salt from Forests

“After Lunar new year is the best time in the forest. Buds are emerging on branches. Forests are lush and wet. The nature is formal yet passionate. That is partly due to spring rains.

Tu Huyen flowers bloom every 30 years. Whoever sees those flowers will get good lucks. This flower is white, salty, and small as a dot so that people call it “salt of forests”. When salt of forests crystallize is a signal of peaceful period and abundant harvests…” - quoted from “Salt of Forest” short story of Nguyen Huy Thiep.

Above are rare bright paragraphs in the tragedy story. However, our salt of forests rather has a happy ending. Different from Tu Huyen flower of the north, this salt of forests is a spicy fruit, which was discovered by the minorities in Middle Highlands.

The salt of forests is scientifically named Rhus semialata Murray. Even thought it has been embellished by beautiful names, local people here have used this salt fruits naturally as “gifts from the forests” for years since sea salt had no way to reach those far-far-away villages.

Nutgall fruits. Photo by: Trung Dzung

Nutgall fruits were introduced to The Golden Spoon Contest 2016 by 79 Gia Bao Restaurant (Kon Tum province) through the dish of spiny eels (chach gai fish) in nutgall sauce and served with 5 kinds of spice leaves. Spiny eels live in harsh environment, among rocks and strong flows of Se San river so that their muscles get so firm in adaption.

Spiny eel was cleaned off fishy slim in green tea, then filleted and seasoned with chopped wild Lot leaves and salt seeds in 15 minutes. A piece of spiny eel fillet was well chopped together with a little of pork, rolled in wild Lot leaves while another piece was cut into bites, then steamed and served with 5 kinds of leaves, including wild makok, Dung with acrid taste, wild fig, red muskdana (Vong Vang) with sour taste, and wild Nganh Nganh.

Nutgall trees particularly grow in Chu Moray Reserve Area. Nutgall fruits are the main spice to season buff in important celebrations or religious activities of Highland people, such as weddings, celebrating new crops or new houses. Nutgall is a woody plant species in the genus Rush, can be 2 – 8 meter high with clusters of white flowers on top of branches.

Nutgall fruits are only available in spring so they have to stock. The fruit is a green bean size, salty with a hint of sour, turning brown after time. A pinch of salt seeds, spicy pepper, lime, and 5 kinds of leaves were grinded to make sauces for spiny eel dish.

Spiny eel in salt seed sauce, served with 5 kinds of leaves. Photo by: Trung Dzung

Chef Duc Hoang said, “This salt fruits are really odd, only available in spring so we had to stock them from Tet till now.” We double-checked this with Mr. Vang A, who loves to explore Northern Highlands’ cuisine. Mr. Vang A told his story about how he met this mysterious fruits on Chen pass (Son La province) years ago. They have all special features as the salt fruits in Middle Highlands but time of fructification in the north is around end of summer.

Thai minority people collect these fruits and sell on side road at 120000vnd per kilo (about US $5.5). They also use them as a gifted spice: sun dry, mill and mix them with other regional spices. Mr. Vang A shared his experiences, “Boil pork and salt fruits together make unstoppable dish.”

Salt of forests played a big role to help chefs from Kon Tum province fulfill the story of spices with a happy ending: 1st prize of The Golden Spoon Preliminary 2016 and 40,000,000vnd as award.

By Nguyen Trang/Nguoi do thi