Quote:
Originally Posted by jackbl
Phuc Trach Sweet Polemo (Buoi Duong Phuc Trach)
Green dragon (Thanh Long) / 火龙果 / dragon pearl fruit
Mango (xoai)
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Rambutan (chom chom)
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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 in the mouth. 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. During the rambutan season one can notice the typical bright red colour of rambutan fruit stands located in the markets, along road and at intersections throughout the southern provinces.
Mangosteen (mang cut)
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The name and the shape of this fruit does not look attractive to those who first see it. The fruit is a bit smaller than a tennis ball and has a dark violet rough skin. When you peel off the upper part of the fruit with a small sharp knife, you can see the transparent white pulp inside arranged in equal segments. While lifting each segment of the transparent white meat to your mouth you can imagine the light and pure refreshment that leaves a little sour taste lingering in your mouth.
Star Apple (vu sua)
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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. When using a knife to cut the fruit, it is advisable to cut the fruit into two parts before using a spoon to scoop out the pulp, bit by bit, until nothing is left.
The most popular way to enjoy the fruit by orchard owners is to eat the whole fruit. People tend to drill a small hole at the top of the fruit, lift it to their mouths, lean their heads backward, and drink the flow of the fragrant juice as a baby sucks milk from its mother's breast. One thing you should remember before taking in the juice is that you must squeeze the tough fruit until it becomes tender so that the juice mixes with the meat of the fruit to become a sweet and fragrant muddy substance that looks like breast milk.
Durian (Sau Rieng)
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You may wonder why this fruit has to bear such an austere name as "sau rieng" (one's own sorrows). If you are curious enough, travel to the orchard province in southern Vietnam where the locals are likely to recite the 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 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.
Literature writer Mai Van Tao once wrote about the particularly good smell of the Durian. He wrote, "The dense fragrance which spreads near and far, lingers a long time before disappearing. The strong smell can go straight to your nostrils, even though you are still several meters away from the fruit. The fragrance of Durian is a mixture of smells which come from a ripening jackfruit and that of a shaddock. It can also be compared to the strong smell of foreign-made cheese and is rich as a hen's egg. Others describe the fruit as sweet as well-kept honey. All things considered, Durian has a special tempting smell.Those who have not enjoyed the fruit before may find it hard to eat. But once they have tried it, they are likely to seek it again."