Some time ago, a friend suggested that I put together a primer about SE Asian fruits. I hesitated doing so because albeit I had tasted/consumed many, I only knew their native names and little more. Then a few days ago, I ran into a French food journalist who was authoring a "dispatch" on SE Asian fruits. She shared some of her info with me about the stranger fruits. So, I took some pics and am sending them with descriptions and background info shared by the French journalist:
Front Left - Mangos teen
a fruit that is unique to South-East Asia. The fruit is extremely hard to grow and it often takes 8-15 years for a tree to bear fruits. The rind of the mangos teen is dark purple marked by a yellowish resin. In terms of size and shape, the mangos teen is similar to the Japanese persimmon. It is also compared to a small tomato.
When sliced at the equator, the mangos teen yields white segments of flesh. These segments taste sweet and sour and have a slight acid after-taste similar to grapes or strawberries.
Front Right - Rambutan (chom chom)
A rambutan tree has broad foliage and many branches. In the southern provinces, the tree yields fruit at the beginning of the rainy season . The chom chom fruit season lasts until the end of the rainy season (from May to October). The skin of this fruit is tough, thick and hairy. Its meat is transparent white and tender, and has a cool sweet taste. The most reputed rambutan fruit nation-wide is grown in Binh Hoa Phuoc village in Long Ho district in Vinh Long province, some 5Okm north of Ho Chi Minh City.
Rear Left - Longan (Qua Nhãn)
In Vietnamese, "long nhãn" means dragon eye. Hung Yen Longans were among the food items reserved as tributes to the Kings. The Longan is a close relative to the litchi. Longans are grown mostly in the cooler highlands of South-East Asia. It was brought here by Chinese immigrants as they migrated south and settled in various areas. The peel is brown and brittle. The meat is translucent white and is very juicy and sweet. In Vietnam, dried longans are cooked in water to make a dessert drink called long nhãn'. Longan is a protein rich fruit. It is usually used as a main ingredient, along with lotus seeds, to make sweet soup, which is considered a very good summer refreshment that I have enjoyed many times. The seedless longan, when dried, is also a very fine choice choice of French connoisseurs.
Rear Right
Plum Apple with thin edible skin and white flesh that has a sweet, kinda chewy, crunchy apple taste. Very good and refreshing when chilled. They also make delicious fruit smoothies from these - one of my favorites!
Front Left - Star Apple (vu sua)
No better word than marvelous can be used to praise the tropical fruit with the name Vu Sua (milk from the breast). Upon entering a star apple orchard, the most famous located in Can Tho Province in the Mekong River Delta, visitors can see for themselves the hundreds of star apples suspended from the branches. The round smooth fruit are all of equal size. The shape of the star apple matches the name attached to it, as does its juice which is fragrantly sweet and milky white like breast milk.
If visitors are unfamiliar to the region, they can be guided by locals on how to enjoy the fruit. A novice will certainly peel the fruit with a sharp knife, which may cause the precious juice inside to be wasted. Instead of doing this, you should first gently squeeze the fruit, then cut a hole in its top and squeeze out its juice into your mouth! Novice (Westerners) usually use a knife to cut the fruit into two parts before using a spoon to scoop out the pulp, bit by bit, until nothing is left. They also make great milkshakes with this fruit!
Front Right - Custard Apple (Mang Cau)
In Vietnam, there are two kinds of custard apple: firm and soft. Both varieties can have various shapes - they can be round or oval. When a custard apples is ripe, it is easy to peel. The peel is thick, green, and covered with white or green pollen - it looks similar to an artichoke. The pulp is white or light yellow and contains many black seeds. Xiem custard apples (like those in pic) are oval or heart shaped. Their peel is green with thorns, which turn black when the fruit is ripe. The fruits are generally big and can reach 1.5 kg. The pulp is white, hard, and a bit
sour. Custard apple trees deliver fruit after three or four years of growth. A tree produces on average from 50 to 100 fruits per year. The fruits ripens on the tree and then cracks, especially during the rainy season. One of my favorate "milkshakes" is made from the custard apple!
Rear Right - Green dragon (Thanh Long)
is the name of a newly cultivated fruit. It is rather big, weighs from 200 to 500 grams, and has pink or dark-red color. The ripe
fruit looks like the kohlrabi cabbage and has an oval shape. When ripe, the fruit peels as easily as a banana. Its pulp is white and gelatinous. The pulp contains many seeds that cannot be extracted. The seeds taste like cactus, giving the fruit a sweet and sour taste. Before 1945, green dragon fruits were not sold in southern markets. It is said that Americans brought green dragon fruits to the south. Bushes of green dragon fruits can be seen climbing to tree trunks in gardens and even on doors. Different from any other southern fruit, its harvest season is particular; fruits become available in markets in October, November, April, and May.
They are more expensive in October and April, since there are smaller
quantities available.
No SE Asian fruit list would be complete without including the infamous Durian or Sau Rieng which in Vietnamese means "one's own sorrows". According to southern Vietnam's locals' immortal love story - Long ago, there was a young couple that lived in the region. Because of social prejudices that could not be overcome, the couple sought their own deaths in order to be forever faithful to each other. Their own sorrows received the population's sympathies, and the story of their tragedy has been handed down from generation to generation. To commemorate the couple, the locals have named one of their most valuable fruits sau rieng.
Durian is an expensive fruit. One Durian fruit is five to six times larger than a Mango. Its skin is thick, rough, and covered with sharp thorns. With a gentle cut between the edges of the outer shell, you can easily open the fruit to expose the layers of bright yellow segments of meat that make the pulp look like it is covered with a thin layer of butter.
The pulp has a kind of custard texture and taste. However, their odor is terrible - similar to a combination of rotten eggs and onions! Most hotels forbid their presence in rooms. Once opened, their odor permeates everything and lingers for hours. I have attempted to eat them twice and both times had difficulty keeping them "down".
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