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A calndar of Fruits.
 Bangkok
is fortunate to have a variety of fruits coming in and out of
season throughout three year and a number,
such as bananas(gluay),oranges(som),pomelos(som-o)and watermelons
(Taeng mo),that are available year round. Three are over 100
varieties of banana,which are eaten fried,boiled,roasted,and
raw.
Water melons are small but seductively sweet and juicy.Pomelos
are often mistaken for grapefruits,but their sweet juics soothe
on a hot Bangkok day.
Any fruit that can be peeled is a great street snack. Here's
what to look for in different seasons:
March -June:Papaya (malagaw).Especially
tasty after the advent of the sot season.Thais like to squeeze
lime juice on them to add a bit of tang.Shredded papya is the
main ingredient in somtam,a fiery salad popular in the northeast.
Murch -July : Sapodilla (lamood).A
surprisingly sweet,soft pulp fruit eateen peeled or halved and
sampleed with a spoon.Beware of the black seeds
April-May :Lichee(linchee). Only a
decade ago,this small fruit with its thin,hard shell was regarded
as sour and unpalatable.It is now grown to nearly twice it's
former size and sweetness.Resembling,the rambutan,the whitish
flesh conceals a big black seed.
April-June:Mango(manuang).Mangoes have
yellow flesh which is sweet,often borderingg on tart.There are
many ways of serving them but the old standard khao niew mamuang(mango
and sticky rice)reigns supreme.They enjoy a strange relationship
with the durian:if it is a good year for mangoes,the durian
crop will be bad and vice versa.Durian.The durian is either
hated or loved.The most expensive of thai fruits,it is recognized
by its hedgehog skin,the heavenly aroma (or disgusting stench
to some) of its flesh,and by the rather mushy consistency of
its meat.Try it in a coconut milk sauce on sticky rice.The durian
has a reputation for producing gas,but it is a small price to
pay .Persevere and you will be rewarded.
April-July:Pineapple(saparot).Thailand
is a top exporter of tinned pineapple and for ood reason: its
pineapples are sweet,with low acidity.Thais eat it sliced and
garnished with a little salt and ground chilies which.odd as
it sounds,enhance its natural sweetness.
August-September:Jackfruit(khanoon).Dividing
this fruit into its myriad sections is best left to the experts.The
yellow sections resemble buttercup blossoms,are waxy-textured
and semi-sweet.
Auggust-October:Langsard. A slightly
bitter fruit that breeaks into sections like garlic cloves.
Magosteen(mangkut)The hard red shell conceals pulpy sections
that ooze with sweetness.A favorite thai game is to ask visitores
to guss the number of sections it contains without breaking
it open.(count the number of "petals" in the woody flower on
the bottom of the fruit.)
October-February:Green plum(putsa).Shaped
like a plum,putsas resemble green apples in color and pulp texture. |
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