Friday 22 July 2016

Balonglong, kedongdong...

Lots of food and drink posts at prez, as I'm a bit short on spare time! 

However, this one was a newie on me. I've lived in SE Asia on and off over a few decades and only just discovered this fruit. It was listed as both balonglong and kedongdong (simultaneously) at a local juice pressing stall, so I thought I'd try it. 

The juice verdict: pretty nice. Refreshing, a bit tart. I'd say a sort of combo of sourish green apple + celery. 

But what on earth is balonglong / kedongdong.. ? Well it's a green, plum-sized, tropical fruit, resembling a small guava, but with smoother flesh. It is not related to the guava, but a closer sister to the cashew, oddly. In fact I think I've had it before, sliced, crunchy, with shrimp paste (which is how it is commonly eaten in this region). I just didn't know what it was, or assumed it was sour mango! It is also a traditional component in that yummy local dish 'rojak'.

What struck me the most, though, is this fruit's ridiculous list of names worldwide! (Check the Wikipedia link below). Ambarella is a common one, apparently. It is called Kedongdong in Indonesia and Malaysia, and Balonglong in next door Singapore (or 'buah longlong' - buah means 'fruit' in Malay, which is the historically indigenous language in Singapore). It is also known as buah amra in Malaysia, apparently - I'll check this out with Malay pals.  

Anyway, always nice to discover new things! Look out for this guy if you're in the region :) 



Juice

Fruit



Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondias_dulcis


Other tropical fruit posts: 

Food of the Day: pulasan

Sweet and soursop

Nosh of the Day: salak

Nosh of the Day: Pearl Jambu

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