This tiny little sweet and sour fruit Sapindaceae is part of the soapberry family which includes lychee, longan and rambutan.
Many are lactiferous, i.e. they contain milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins with soap-like qualities in either the foliage and/or the seeds, or roots.
This tiny little fruit grows wild and is often called the wild lychee the tree it comes from is enormous and the fruit so tiny it also quite rare to find… I came across this fruit quite by chance when I took a ride back from the market in a tuk-tuk.
The tuk-tuk driver had a bag of these in the back and told me to try some which I did ..of course…when I expressed my pleasure he gave me some…Thais are very generous if you try what they offer and you like it you will always be gifted some. He told me that he had a tree in his village which was where he got the fruit from…
When peeled they look like very small lychees … I have found this fruit locally on markets or often people just sit on the sidewalk with a few fruits and vegetables from their land which they are selling to make a few baht but this is also where you come across unusual fruits and vegetables which are not commercially grown or grown wild.
Found also in Laos and Myanmar it is not grown commercially or generally cultivated so quite a rare fruit…backyard fruit as it can be called…
Korlan… the rare wild fruit juice has a delicious and unique taste of sour and sweet variety with health benefits from vitamins and antioxidants.
It is said to regulate blood sugar and also to improve concentration and stress. Locals say eaten daily or taken as a syrup/extract made from the fruit it gives increased energy and boosts the immune system, therefore, combating flu viruses and colds.
My daughter in law said they were also eaten with dried chilli, fish sauce and lime sauce and they were quite nice this type of dip/sauce is quite commonly eaten with fruits.
It is actually quite nice eaten like this…pictured…
Not that we would eat the stone but it is said that it is probably poisonous…I always err on the safe side with pips and don’t eat them …
Have you come across this fruit?? Do you have any recipes using this fruit?? If so I would love to hear from you in the comments x
Thank you for reading this post I do hope you enjoyed reading about this little known fruit.
I would like to thank everyone who sent their good wishes and healing thoughts for my daughter however after waiting 3 weeks the news was not good…she has an MRI scan booked for next week and based on that they will decide what the course of action is…We are shocked as you can imagine and at the moment unable to travel back to the UK without having to quarantine for 2 weeks Thailand is a red zone for travel to the UK …Carol xx
It has been a funny old week this week one of those bitty weeks …Do you get those?…
We have had some heavy tropical showers and now I am listening to a lovely drip, drip, drip…yep the ceiling,, Again…If anyone tried water torture on me I would be immune … haha…
Pak Dong…Is Thai pickled cabbage which comes in many forms from just cabbage or cabbage and green onions this week I added some small yellow eggplants…
Ingredients:
1 white cabbage. cut or torn into pieces.
8 large spring onions chopped
12-15 sm yellow eggplants halved
Coarse Salt.
Method:
Pickled cabbage is very easy to do and there are many variations I have seen it with fresh chillies. It can also be made with Chinese cabbage or Pak Choy…Our preference is just plain old white cabbage and spring onions it is quick, easy and very moreish it can be eaten on its own, stirred into soup or with a curry as an accompaniment. It doesn’t last long here at all as our little granddaughter loves it and just eats it on its own.
To Pickle:
Layer Cabbage, Onions, eggplants and salt in the dish add a little water. Mix it all together with your hands.
We then leave the dish covered on the kitchen top or in the sun for 1 day.
Then drain and lightly rinse and add more salt if required. Cover and leave for 2/3 days or until it reaches your ideal taste. With pickled cabbage, it is purely down to personal taste some like it saltier or sour more than others. Just play with it and you will soon discover your ideal version.
My daughter in law who is Thai doesn’t like it as sour as we do… she doesn’t like the Winegar taste as she puts it… Once it reaches your required taste it is ready to eat.
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
Enjoy!
We love chorizo which is quite expensive here as it is imported and also as much as we love it we eat in moderation as it is also processed sausage…Chorizo contains several nutrients that have a beneficial effect on your health but, because it also has some nutritional drawbacks, you should consume it in moderation as it contains lots of sodium and fat…
This recipe has healthy liver a small amount of chorizo cooked with onions and it was a hit with everyone it had the spiciness of the chorizo and was quick to cook. It was also a throw it together one as your cooking so ingredients are approx…x
Ingredients:
350 gm chicken liver
Approx 3/4 inch chunk chorizo cut into slices
1 yellow onion sliced
3-4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp balsamic
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil
Let’s Cook!
Heat a good splash of olive oil in a pan add the onions and cook for about 2 minutes add the chorizo and then the garlic cook for about 5 mins until the onions are soft and the chorizo slightly browned.
Add the liver and cook for 3-3 minutes then add your balsamic and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the liver is just cooked.
I served with mashed potato, green beans, courgettes, cauliflower and broccoli…It would go equally well with pasta…
As a quick stir fry it went down well everyone liked it and it was quick to cook…
This edible flower was one we saw last week at the Farmers Market foraged in the hills of Northern Thailand. It is eaten raw not steamed or cooked but eaten raw with bamboo soup…An occasional delicacy not seen often my daughter in law was very pleased as she had not eaten this one before..she loves to forage for flowers and mushrooms herself so was keen to try it…
There are numerous Thai soup recipes. Soup is eaten almost daily, as an accompaniment to a Thai meal. Unlike in the West, it is not served as a first course but is served with all the other dishes on the table. In Thailand, at a family-style meal, everyone shares from the serving bowl, by spooning some of the soup into his own spoon.
This youtube video shows you how to make bamboo soup and the Yanang Juice is canned but if you do wish to make this soup it will probably be easier to obtain the juice canned. If you haven’t heard of Yanang juice then I wrote a post a while ago about Yanang and its health benefits…Click here to read about Yanang Juice…
My daughter in law is the one who makes this soup here in my kitchen and the flowers pictured are what would be eaten with the soup or something similar. Raw or steamed vegetables are a staple food here and eaten with every meal.
Our jalapeno snacks came out ok...However, we are going back to the drawing board making them smaller( not so much cream cheese filling and using different spring roll wrappers…
Spring rolls wrapped in their filling ready to cook
Take two will be next week...Some of them split which meant crispy bits BUT the flavour was there …The jalapeno heat…They were tasty just not perfect for a photo but the taste testers loved them enough to request a rerun…But that’s cooking for you not everything comes out perfect every time…
There is no second-guessing kids is there.?.. Our grandson Aston went to the local shop yesterday after school to get a treat for after his dinner…He came back with a big bunch of Morning Glory which is Thai water spinach which he had as an extra vegetable last night and requested it again tonight…
Stir-fried Morning Gloryor Pad Pak Boon Fai Daeng is also known as water spinach…It is a very popular vegetable dish in Thailand and one I have for breakfast/brunch quite often with rice.
This is a very quick dish to cook once you have all your ingredients prepared..5 mins at the most. Ingredients:
1 bunch of Morning Glory
4-6 cloves of garlic
3 or more Thai Chillies
2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp of Soy Sauce
1/2-1 tbsp of fermented soybean paste or oil with soya beans ( optional)
1/2 to 1 tbsp of oil
A dash of water if required
Let’s Cook!
Wash and cut your morning-glory into 4-6 inch pieces.
Bash the chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar
Heat the oil in a pan until very hot.
Add the garlic and chillies and stir-fry ( stirring) for 15-20 seconds being careful not to let the garlic burn.
Add morning-glory and all other ingredients.
Stir-fry for 40 seconds and add water if req and stir-fry for another 10 seconds.
Serve with steamed rice or as a side dish.
Enjoy!
I hope you have enjoyed this week in my kitchen and if you have any questions about the recipes, please ask…
About Carol Taylor:
Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.
The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great weekend xx
Welcome to Whimsical Wednesday’s when anything is on the menu…A cloudy day today temp 31 degrees feels like 36 degrees… only a slight chance of rain today…A good day for a walk…Yesterday I took two walks early morning and one to market in the afternoon…I fancied ginger tea…it was certainly heavy on the ginger but just as I like it…Freshly made…
Kittens who doesn’t love tiny, adorable kittens? …their big heads, giant eyes, tiny pink paws and noses, and the adorable mews they make…. Irresistible…Americans seem to like cats and kittens best: According to the American Humane Society, 95.6 million cats were owned, while 83.3 million households owned a dog. There is certainly nothing wrong with dogs, but a tiny kitten is just so irresistible! Look at that adorable face is it saying look at me or help I can’t get down?
On this day in 1940…The Battle of Britain began when Nazi forces attacked shipping convoys in the English Channel…My dad was 12 years old at that time…My mother was 10 years old and like many, that was when childhood as they knew changed and many brave men and women gave their lives.
Time for some music…
1964 saw the Beatles release third 3rd studio album ( It’s a ) ” Hard Days Night” followed by the Rolling Stones who on 10th July 1964 scored their first US #1 single ” Satisfaction”
I loved Top of the Pops it was a weekly treat with Pans People who still dance by the way…My father took great delight in ridiculing all the bands and singers and telling me that they wouldn’t be around in years to come like his favourite singers…Well, he soon had to eat his words and I remember back in early 2000 when they released a compilation of their hits called 40 Licks…My father was very happy to receive a copy of that in his Christmas stocking…
For you dad …I hope you are listening up there…xxx Love you forever xxx
Kombucha…I love a drink of Kombucha the last time being a few years ago as my friend who lives in Phuket made her own…A fermented, slightly alcoholic, lightly effervescent black or green tea drink,,, Juices or spices can be added and often are to commercially brewed Kombucha drinks which can be high in sugar so I steer clear and decided to make my own…I am rehydrating my scoby which is going really well it is swelling and looking good for a very unattractive culture which can also be known as tea mushroom or tea fungus…More to come as she grows…
Latest Wimbledon News…
Young Corri Gauff reached the fourth round…For a15 years old that is a fabulous achievement.
Roger Federer is hoping to get his 100th match win at Wimbledon today when he plays Japans Kei Nishikori.
Rafael Nadal is playing Sam Querry will he win his match? Will all three of these guys win their matches to march on and maybe one of them will be Wimbledon Champion this year…
My favourite Novak Djokovic is also playing a Belgian player called David Goffin who he has beaten in 6 previous meetings although it all boils down to who plays the best Tennis on the day…My fingers are crossed for Novak…
Yesterday saw the awesome pair Murray and Williams win their game but I reckon they will be a hard pair to beat…
Time for a story…The Beach Bum…
The phone call in the middle of the night shattered our hearts our lives. Our beloved father was gone, the victim of a hit and run accident, never to return.
Lives were torn apart, my brother, my twin, my soul mate always so fragile retreated further into the recess of his mind.
Being the strong one I was thrust slap bang into the middle of corporate life. Now chair lady of the board at just 19 years old.
Such hostility I had never met in my life, I worked hard and become a daughter my father would have been proud of. My life, however, was not my own any more. My enemies always there, always ready for me to make one slip, one mistake, they were like vultures, circling.
My brother always the sickly one spent more and more of his time at this tiny, little known retreat in the heart of Thailand. Gradually he became better, more able to cope but always yearning for the simple life. There was not a corporate bone in his body although his mind, sharp unlike any I had ever known, he was also so like our mother gentle and fragile who left this world and us when we were only 5 yrs old.
10 years later.
A balmy, slightly hazy day, waves gently lapping on the white sand. Lovers walking hand in hand without seemingly a care in this world. Local fishermen casting their lines from the shore, long tail boats in the background. The only sounds are the waves and the soft murmur of indistinct words as they catch the gentle breeze. To an onlooker an idyllic life, the reality often so different.
Like life, appearances so deceptive.
Myself, beautiful I am told, the perfect woman with the perfect life…Ha Ha. Today was the day; everyone thought I was staying at a 5-star resort with every imaginable luxury to cosset madam.
The reality is that once a year for a month I take my hammock, rucksack and board a plane to my beloved Thailand.
My suitcase goes to that 5-star resort; the staff given strict instructions that I am not to be disturbed. My meals are bought to my room, the empty dishes left outside my door. Inside the TV monitors are trained on a boardroom and its members.
My brother, my soul mate, my friend and confidant who walks the beach, sleeps under the stars, changes places with me.
For a month he watches and listens!
By Carol Ann Taylor.
Recipe Corner…
This is by far the best recipe I have eaten so far for ribs. I nearly didn’t eat them as I am not a fan of chewing on a rib, however, the meat on these was so moist and soft it just fell off the bone. We cooked it as one whole piece rather than cut the ribs into portions.
Ingredients:
A 2-kilo piece of Pork Rib.
For the marinade:
160 ml Hoisin sauce
4 tbsp BLACK Soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh orange juice and the grated zest.
4 tbsp raw brown sugar
10cm piece of fresh ginger julienned
4 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
2 sticks of cinnamon
4-star anise
Let’s Cook!
Mix all of the above ingredients together.
Then paint over the rack of ribs and put in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate and absorb all those lovely flavours.
Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees.
Cover the dish with foil and cook the ribs for 2 ½ to 3 hrs, basting the meat occasionally.
When nice and tender remove from the oven and portion up and those lovely leftover juices from the pan we drizzled over the ribs and served them with a mixed salad, potato salad, and beetroot.
As always a finger bowl and serviettes are required as ribs make for quite a messy and enjoyable experience but very enjoyable and we would definitely make them again. Enjoy!
That’s it for this week …Enjoy Wimbledon all you tennis fans …Thank you for reading my whimsical ramblings I do hope you enjoyed and it bought back some memories xxx
About Carol Taylor:
Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.
The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will onmewe.com/i/caroltaylor3
Last week I was in Bangkok and what a lovely weekend it was…I am now back home..refreshed as I didn’t take my laptop so had a few days break which did me good…I came back renewed and invigorated…The weather here is typical rainy season lots of tropical storms and is that thunder loud…Still warm but the rain takes that edge off the searing heat…29C feels like 34C…Cloudy interspersed with tropical showers…Looks like it is set in for the day…
For a change, I thought I would make fajitas and my grandson has decided that it is his new favourite dinner…It is not very often that I make this sort of dinner I normally cook Thai, Indian or a good roast dinner…
Aston, of course, being a young foodie and a good little cook wanted guacamole, salsa, sour cream to go with his fully stuffed fajitas of which he ate 3 to my one…A growing lad with hollow legs as my mum used to say to us…
Guacamole.
I avocado
1 ripe tomato
1 finely chopped shallot or green onion…I prefer shallots
I birds eye chilli finely chopped
1 tbsp of fresh coriander
Salt and black pepper for seasoning
Lime juice
Let’s Cook!
Peel and roughly chop the avocado stir in the chopped onion, chilli, tomatoes and the coriander. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and a generous squeeze of lime juice.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill before serving.
Tomato Salsa.
Ingredients.
1 med red onion finely chopped
2 small cloves garlic (minced)
3 large ripe tomatoes (peeled, chopped)
1-2 red chilli peppers (hot or mild)
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
1 1/2-2 tbsp lime juice.
salt and pepper, to taste.
Let’s Cook!
Combine all the ingredients and season well…
Salsa is also Aston and Lily’s favourite snack so I think I have made it 3 nights out of 4 for the last week or two…Kids!
All of these dips are really quick to put together sometimes I use my little blender with the guacamole but am careful not to make it too smooth.
They can be served with my saltine crackers, pitta bread, Doritos, Fajitas or anything else of your choice…
I always make my own mixes as I find that I can save money by buying larger packs of spices and also I have a quicker rotation so the spices stay fresh and not linger in the cupboard forever.
Chicken Fajitas.
2 chicken breast sliced into about 3 in pieces.
2/3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 onion chopped or sliced
1-2 tbsp Fajita mix
Half a red and yellow sweet bell pepper finely sliced…( optional)
I don’t cook them with my fajita mix as my family like their peppers uncooked in Fajitas this is purely personal taste and if you like yours in your mix then add near the end of cooking.
Let’s Cook!
Heat a glug of olive oil in your pan and add your onions and after a couple mins, the garlic then add your fajita mix and stir well then add your chicken, Cook for about 5-6 minutes until chicken is cooked. Add a little water if required.
To serve spread some sour cream on your wrap add some chicken, salsa, guacamole, raw bell peppers, grated cheese ( optional) then roll and enjoy!
Mackerel and green mango salad.
Ingredients:
2 small mackerel or mackerel fillets
1 green mango, julienned
3 shallots finely sliced
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Lime Juice
2 -4 fresh red chillies sliced
1 tsp red chilli flakes ( optional)
1 handful of fresh mint picked and chopped
1 handful coriander chopped
2 tbsp unsalted roasted nuts.
Grill the mackerel unless you buy ready smoked mackerel and in that case break it into flakes.
Julienne your mango, slice your shallots and chop your herbs. Put all your chopped ingredients and the fish into a serving bowl and add your chillies, fish sauce and Lime Juice…Taste and if you wish to add a little sugar to balance the flavour or suit your palate then add it now.
Serve with noodles or some steamed plain potatoes.
N.B.
If you can’t get green mango then this salad would be lovely with mango which is just ripe but still firm which I think you could get almost anywhere in the world now…Or try a green apple which I think would be equally as good.
I hope you all enjoy these recipes until next time…Have a great weekend xxx
About Carol Taylor:
Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.
The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will onmewe.com/i/caroltaylor3
An old family favourite of my dad’s and a recipe passed down through the family although my nan didn’t put as much spice in as I do but recipes grow and evolve, don’t they? Which is the lovely thing… I have made it much more since living here in Thailand as all the expat men love it ( a taste of home) …
I keep all of my bits of stale bread in the freezer until I have enough for a pudding so no waste in this kitchen.
Ingredients:
2/3 Ib of bread ( brown /white) or mixed.
1 tbsp Mixed Spice.
2 eggs beaten
3 oz butter melted.
12/16 oz dried fruit (sultanas or raisins)
Let’s Cook!
Put bread in a large mixing bowl and cover with water or mix or milk and water to soak.
When soft I squeeze out in a colander as much liquid as I can. My little helper( Lily) getting stuck in and squeezing the bread dry…Kids just love the mucky bits…lol
Add melted butter, mixed spice, eggs and fruit and combine.
Nanny poured the melted butter in and Lily did the dried ingredients. and give a good stir… Next, it will be the Christmas Puddings as we only have 118 sleeps.
I like lots of spice and fruit so if I think it needs more at this point then I add it is one of those dishes where you can add what you like for example if I have had some other fruit left over as in cranberries or blueberries I would add them.
Put in hot oven 180 degrees for 1 hour if the top seems to be browning too quickly then reduce the heat a little. It should rise up a little by end of cooking. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar.
This is when I invoke my rights to cooks perks and have the 1st bit..to try of course as it’s yummy hot and straight from the dish. It is also great served with custard or cold if there is any left..haha. It also uses up all your bits of stale bread.
I hope you enjoy these dishes..until next time xx If you missed the Bread and Butter Pudding recipe then here it is…
The humble cabbage…What a revival cabbage is getting and it is so well deserved I love cabbage and so many different varieties and it is good for you…So a bonus tasty and healthy …Sorted xxxx
Cabbage … I actually love cabbage and there are so many different varieties and it can be eaten cold, steamed, boiled, sautéed, pickled so many ways to prepare the humble cabbage.
Although I will admit that the cooking of cabbage has improved as I remember my Nan and my mum used to cook it to death but did we love the cabbage water with a bit of vinegar and pepper in it to us it was a real treat…Does anyone else remember that???
I won’t bore you with any more coleslaw recipes as cabbage makes a lovely slaw and there are so many dressing and additions you can make to make slaw but I think something different today.
Spicy Red Cabbage.
I have been making this …Well, it seems like forever but it must be at least for the last 35 years so it is a well…
Retired? No one told me! 