Monday, December 23, 2024

What are some exotic fruits from Southeast Asia?

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Pulasan

The Pulasan are the close cousin of rambutan. Pulasan are sweeter than rambutan and lychee. Its name mean “twist” cause you need to use both hand to hold the fruit and give it a twist in order to eat it.

Pulasan

Rambutan on the left and Pulasan on the right.

Rose Apple / Water Apple

In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, we called it as “Jambu Air” with “Air” mean “water” which have a quite similar name with guava which is “Jambu Batu” with “Batu” mean “stone/rock”. So, most of them would probably do not know what is a “Rose Apple / Water Apple” unless you jokingly told them it is a “water guava”.

Ayesha on Instagram: “What is Jambu Air in English? We don't really think about it do we... #WorkExperiment”

Cempedak

The Cempedak are cousin of breadfruit and jackfruit. It can be eaten fresh or cooked. The most popular way to cook it in Malaysia is to fry it as a type of fritter. The fruit look quite similar with jackfruit but have softer texture flesh and pungent smell that is second compare to durian (based on my personal opinion).

Cempedak

Cempedak Fritters

Nipah seeds

The fruit come from a special palm tree called nipah palm tree or mangrove palm which is the only palm tree that grow at mangrove area with those brackish water. In Malaysia and Singapore, we like to eat it as a dessert and called it as “Attap chee”.

For those of you who are familiar with the “Nipah Virus” and thought the virus have some connection with it, it does have a little bit of connection. The virus are named after the place where the outbreak first recorded/occurred. And the place are named after a river (where there is a lot of this palm tree growing along it) which is named after this nipah palm tree.

Inside a single pod is the white fruit.

Collected fruit

Dessert with nipah fruits/seeds

Dessert with nipah fruits/seeds

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