Mushroom season and childhood memories

Mushroom season and childhood memories

In May (lunar calendar), the rains begin to fall heavily, but whenever it is both rainy and sunny, it is a sign that the termite mushroom season has begun. If there is a house with a large garden, go look for it. Anyone who doesn't have a garden will look for it in "other people's houses", or old trees on the side of the road.

But termite mushrooms also grow "strangely", no matter where, there is no specific address, sometimes on jackfruit roots, coconut roots, sometimes growing wild on the side of the road, houses with dirt floors, it can grow under the bed. ... In general, wherever there is a termite nest, termite fungus can grow.

Each year, termite mushrooms only appear once in about a month, starting from May (lunar calendar), after the first rains of the season until June of the lunar calendar, with the peak being during the Doan Ngo Festival (the 5th day of the lunar calendar). May). However, there are also places where mushrooms grow earlier or later due to unusual weather changes.

This is a delicious dish, so the price is high every year, especially when the mushrooms grow at the beginning of the season. Whether cooking soup, porridge, stir-frying, braised or grilled, termite mushrooms still stand at a high class, with taste and quality superior to other mushroom species.

According to folk experience, termite fungus appears every year because termite nests deep underground secrete a spawn substance. When the weather is suitable, the spawn will develop into mushrooms. That's why they are called termite mushrooms, heaven-sent mushrooms, with very high nutritional value.

It can be said that termite mushrooms are the "queen" of mushrooms. If anyone has eaten it once, they will feel the delicious taste of this "queen" mushroom.

Termite mushrooms have a characteristic sweet taste, the mushroom stems are crispy and rough, and when enjoyed, they cannot be confused with any other type of mushroom. It can be said that the simplest is termite mushroom porridge, termite mushrooms stir-fried with sesame leaves and luffa, termite mushrooms stir-fried with coconut milk..., anyone who eats it once will always remember the delicious, sweet taste...

I still remember, when I was a child, my house had many termite mushroom nests in the garden. My parents often got up early in the morning to pull the mushrooms back, because this was the time when the mushroom stems had just separated from the ground, each stem was "fat and fat". soft".

In the countryside, every house has a few cassava leaves, gourd vines, and luffa vines. My mother often picks young cassava leaf shoots and a few luffa fruits to stir-fry with mushrooms. The breakfast is simple but delicious.

During this season, I often go to the garden to see if the mushrooms have grown any more. Sometimes, after pulling out about 10 mushrooms, the women rush to the leaves and remove a few leaves, wash them, peel the mushrooms cleanly, and roll the mushrooms into the leaves. Then, light a fire to get charcoal and quickly put it on the grill. 10 minutes later, you'll have grilled termite vinegar with kach leaves. Just that, it's surprisingly delicious.

In the countryside, during this season, if a family harvests a lot of mushrooms, they can use termite mushrooms as fillings for pancakes or salt and chili, then wrap them in leaves and grill them on a charcoal stove, dipping them with spicy and sour fish sauce... , even fastidious people have to admit that grilled termite mushrooms are a delicious dish that you can't eat all the time.

Nature has given the people of the West a specialty that cannot be grown, but can only be found in nature. Today, the old gardens no longer exist, replaced by vast grapefruit and dragon fruit gardens, so the presence of termite mushrooms is increasingly rare.

The price of a kilogram of termite mushrooms currently ranges from 600,000 - 1,000,000 VND depending on the quality of the bud or hatched mushrooms. A friend of mine said: "Every year, during termite mushroom season, I often buy some for the whole family to eat together, to let everyone know the delicious taste of mushrooms and to remember a time when I was able to eat them firsthand when I was a child. Picking and eating mushrooms from your garden - an exciting, never-to-be-forgotten feeling."

It can be said that for many people, termite mushrooms are simply a nutritious and delicious mushroom, but for me and my friends of the same age, termite mushrooms are our childhood, a nostalgia that will last a lifetime. .