Oroxylum indicum

Oroxylum indicum is a species of flowering plant belonging to the monotypic genus Oroxylum and the family Bignoniaceae. This is commonly called oroxylum as it’s the only species in the genus. Other common names includes midnight horror, Indian trumpet flower, broken bones, Indian caper, or tree of Damocles. The species is known to be native South and Southeast Asia.

Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Oroxyleae
Genus: Oroxylum
Species: Oroxylum indicum
Synonyms: Bigninia indica, Calosanthes indica
English name: oroxylum, midnight horror, Indian trumpet flower, broken bones, Indian caper, or tree of Damocles.
Vietnamese name: núc nác.

In Vietnam, the oroxylum is known as núc nác. The plant is known to be used an ingredient in a local cough syrup.

Culinary uses

In Đắk Nông, Đắk Lắk and some other central highland provinces, according to the local people, the young leaves, the flowers and the fruits (pods) are edible, and can be used in a daily meal. The flowers can be stir-fried with meat (pork) or stuffed with minced pork then get grilled. The young leaves can be boiled and dipped with lemon juice, or they can used in some fish braise.

But the pods have a bitter and pungent taste, and not everybody can eat. Several ethnic groups like M’nông, Mạ or Ê đê use the oroxylum pods in their dishes. Those pods can be cooked in many ways: boiling, stir-frying, cooking in soups. But the most unique dish is oroxylum salad with dried anchovy.

To make this oroxylum pods need to be roasted first, they they are sliced like a vegetable. Next, the oroxylum pieces are mixed with sliced chive bulbs, dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, herbs and salad seasonings (salt, sugar, msg, lime juice). The next step is to mix other Some variations include oroxylum salad with yellowstripe scad, with grilled stream fish, with pork, with pig’s ears…

Oroxylum salad is also popular among the Tày  or the Thai ethnicities (northernmost Vietnam) those used carps or climbing perch fish.

The oroxylum can also be pickled together with green stripe eggplants.