Mangosteen salad from the orchards of Lai Thieu

On the night of the full moon

He makes the wooden bed and marries wife in Lai Thieu
(Folk)

I don’t know how many guys dream to marry girls who have light skin, a sweet voice and beauty as ripe as a fruit in Lai Thieu, but I know that Lai Thieu is the paradise of tropical fruits. There you can find durian, mangosteen, langsat fruit, jack fruit, rambutans and strawberries.

People remember that Lai Thieu isn’t only about ancient roads so beautiful they touch your heart, or historical houses of worship in the south. They also remember the peaceful orchards where the birds come and build their nest. It is also a place where the local people are very friendly and welcome new comers.

Lai Thieu orchard in Binh Duong province is located along the Saigon River, and is about 10 km from the town of Thu Dau Mot to the south and about 20km from Ho Chi Minh City to the north.

In the old time, Binh Duong people knew how to create an orchard culture with bold features of the Southeast region. This is since the General Nguyen Huu Canh obeyed Nguyen King to go to the South to explore this new land and set up the first governmental administration to define their dominion. Due to the alluvium of the Saigon River which goes from Saigon until Thuan An before splitting into two branches. These two branches provide water and alluvium to Lai Thieu as a gift of nature, therefore fruits in Lai Thieu grow well year round.

Two generations in the mangosteen orchards dream of making mangosteen salad - a specialty of Lai Thieu

Mrs. Ba Hien (66) living in Hung Tho Hamlet, Lai Thieu said, “A few decades ago orchards were here were immense and prevalent, unlike now. The fruit was so much that we could fill a bamboo basket for selling and then give the rest away for free. If we couldn’t give all of them away then we would think of making our own dishes.

One day some ladies in our hamlet cut unripe mangosteen to see how it looks and how it tastes. They found that it has the taste together of sour and sweet, which is delicious. They combined the young mangosteen to make a salad with boiled chicken and steamed shrimp. The salad is already 30 years old, and one of the specialties of Binh Duong province.

Mangosteen used in salads needs to be green, but inside it is just barely ripe.

Mangosteen salad uses green mangosteen, but inside is just barely ripe so the meat mangosteen will be crispy, sweet and also a little sour. The most difficult part is to cut the mangosteen and remove the meat because green mangosteens have sticky liquid. It is difficult to move the knife when you cut into the young fruit. If the fluid touches the meat, then it turns to brownish color and does not look appetizing.

Binh Duong people had to try many times to master an easier way to cut the fruit and not taint the white color of the meat. When cutting, you need to cut under water and put the meat into a bowl of ice water to retain the white and crispness. Only then can you cut the meat a flower or take out the seeds

Mangosteen flower brought a light and refreshing taste that it is difficult to find in other dishes.

The salad will be mixed with peeled shrimp, thinly cut bacon and shredded chicken, young mangosteen, onion, carrots, peanuts, herbs, fried red onion, chili, salt and sugar. Mangosteen salad is served with fish sauce and garlic, fried rice paper or prawn crackers.

Sitting in the shadow of the orchard, a sense of peace washes over while enjoying mangosteen salad. The hot sun of June and July burns brightly, but even the worries of daily activities cannot distract. You won’t be able to skip this dish if you come to Binh Duong when the salad has crispiness, sour, sweetness and the fat of chicken (or shrimp and bacon), the taste of herbs, spicy of chili, the taste of roast peanuts and the salty of the fish sauce with garlic and chili…

Mangosteen is one of 10 best fruits and it is heralded as the “Queen of Fruit”

According to researcher around the world, mangosteen (Garania Mangostana Linn) is one of best fruits because it is such a well-rounded fruit. It has a pleasing aroma, a lovely shape and beautiful color and has good nutrition including antioxidants to help the body against many diseases. The mangosteen skin can also be cut into thin slices, dried and ground into powder - then used to treat dysentery. Mangosteen traditionally was offered before to the King. This rare fruit has now become readily available in many homes, and can be combined with chicken, shrimp or bacon.

Compared with other traditional salad dishes, mangosteen salad was born quite late and this “youngest” sister has already caught up to be one of delicious dishes in Vietnam.

Followed by V.H
Dan Tri Newspaper

Extracted from articles written especially for Golden Spoon 2014 called “A journey of searching traditional rustic dishes”