Crab Claw Herb - the taste of the countryside

Hi everyone! Let's go around my yard to pick crab claw herb which is called "rau càng cua" in Vietnamese with me.

In my hometown, it is the rainy season, the humidity is high, so this is a good condition for the growth of crab claw herb.

In fact, we do not plant or care for it, it grows naturally around my yard under shaded places.

There are some herbs that can even grow on cracked stones or walls.

Ah, one of the easiest places to find this herb in my village is the potted plants.

In my hometown, crab claw herb is a small, crawling plant.

Its stems and leaves are succulent, and it has many long flower spikes. Its leaves are slightly heart-shaped, and they have bright green color.

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Crab claw herb is very good for health. It is cool, antipyretic, and nutritious. It is used against fever, cold, headache, sore throat, coughing, weak body and diarrhea. It is also good for curing some skin diseases. This herb can help with the wound. Smashing crab claw herb leaves, then squeeze to get the juice, mix with a bit of salt, then put it on the skin, and it can make the wound heals quickly.

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Crab claw herb can be eaten without cooking, so it is a great ingredient for many good nutritious dishes, especially salad. Both leaves and stems are used for salads. Its flavor is slightly sour and sweet, and it's crispy, therefore, it goes well with any kind of salad. We call salad made by crab claw herb "gỏi rau càng cua" in our language. Crab claw herb salad is a rustic dish with locals, and it is also served as an appetizer in many restaurants in Viet Nam.

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Well, I have harvested enough crab claw herb to prepare the salad.

Today I made a salad with melaleuca mushrooms, okra, tomatoes and black sesame seeds. I used salt, lime, chili, and sesame oil as the marinades. I added some star fruit slices which are sour and soft and pomegranate seeds which are sweet and crunchy to spice up my salad. This was a vegetarian dish. It was the first time I made the salad with this recipe, and it tastes good. My sister and I really enjoyed this crab claw herb salad!

Thank you for reading my sharing, and hope you have a great new month!