The rich taste of canarium fruit from Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn)- Fatty and rich Chinese plum is a popular dish. Especially for Nghe An people living far from home, every time the plum season comes in the seventh lunar month, they remember the rich and fatty taste of the Chinese plum.

However, not everyone knows how to choose and prepare delicious canarium fruit.

Canarium fruit season is around the 7th lunar month.

1. How to choose delicious plums:

There are two types of black plums: regular plums and sticky plums. Regular plums have small fruit and thin flesh. Sticky plums have large fruit and thicker flesh. When choosing black plums, you should choose long, thin fruit at both ends, still firm to the touch, with smooth, powdery skin that is not wrinkled or blistered.

When you buy it, you must spread it out on a basket or sieve for ventilation, and leave it in a cool place to avoid steaming in a hot nylon bag. The canarium will soften and peel off, which means it is spoiled. When washing the canarium and rubbing it to release the resin, you also need to be gentle, otherwise the peeled off parts will be bland when stewed, easily waterlogged, and quickly sour and spoil.

Good canarium fruit is one that is long and thin at both ends, still feels hard to the touch, has smooth and powdery skin.

2. How to prepare and stew plums:

To prevent the canarium from becoming bitter, you must carefully rub the canarium. Dip the canarium into water, use your hands or a tool to rub the canarium against each other to release all the sap. Dip and rinse with water, repeat 5-7 times until the canarium is clean and smooth, and the water is no longer black.

How to braise canarium:

Mix hot water, about 60 - 70 degrees Celsius, add a little salt and then put the plums in, cover and leave in a relatively warm place, after 30 minutes, squeeze to feel soft, the plums are cooked. Braised plums are very easy but also very difficult, many people braise them and they are hard, the reason may be because the water is not hot enough, so when the plums are not soft enough, the water has cooled down. Hot water from 55 - 65 degrees is the most beautifully cooked plums, with yellow flesh with purple edges, when cooled the flesh will gradually turn purple. When the plums are soft, they will not harden anymore, but if left in the air for a long time, they will become scum, sour and rotten.

To keep the plums longer, mix a slightly salty, hot brine, and pour the stewed plums into it to firm them up a bit. Let them cool and store them in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also use the same method of canning as you would jam.

Braised Chinese plums

Delicious dishes from Chinese jujube

Canarium is used to prepare many dishes. Black canarium is often stewed until soft and then used to braise meat and fish, or stuffed with steamed meat, but most commonly eaten as is.

Braised black plums, split horizontally or vertically, can be dipped in sesame salt, peanut sauce, fish sauce or meat stock. But the best is probably the minced meat “dipping sauce” - minced lean meat, fried shallots, add the marinated meat in fish sauce and pepper, stir until firm, add a little water as a dipping sauce, season to taste, turn off the heat and sprinkle with pepper.

Braised pork belly with plum

After being braised, black plums are fatty and fragrant, no longer stiff and astringent. Also with fatty meat, eating black plums with shrimp paste, boiled pork belly, herbs and star fruit is extremely appealing.

The season of canarium comes and goes quickly, so take advantage of it to make some canarium dishes to treat your family! I hope you gain more useful experiences in processing and preserving canarium fruits effectively!

Thu Phuong

(synthetic)