Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Wonder Fruit





One of my favourite tropical fruits is papaya. I think most us know the health benefits of papaya. Papaya is packed with all the vital nutrients -vitamins and minerals. Papaya actually contains more beta carotene than carrot and more vitamin C than kiwis! I actually prefer unripen/green papayas especially when they are made into papaya salad. Papaya actually loses some of the enzymes as it ripens, so it's actually good to have unripe papaya. I also found out that the papaya enzymes called Papain are mainly concentrated in the half green fruit, the ripe seeds as well as in the leaves of the plants..So far, I have never tried the leaves yet. Selalu org tua2 makan buat ulam.


One of my favourite food made from green papaya is Som Tam. Som Tam is kicking tasty, tangy, spicy and peanuty papaya salad. Som Tam which a very popular Thai dish, is made from simple ingredients which includes shredded green papaya, tomato, dried prawns, roasted peanuts, chilies, garlic, lime juice and sugar. Once in a while, when my taste buds cry for help, especially for sweetness, sourness, and spiciness at the same time, Som Tam is what comes to my mind!


Som Tam which I bought at a stall in Rantau Panjang near Thai border...Enak banget!..




Terengganu Papaya Salad

Terengganu papaya salad is one of Terengganu traditional dishes. Anyone have tried it before? Terengganu papaya salad is actually something new to me. When I first tasted it, I did not really like the taste. Rasa pelek je because the gravy is made from fish. I have never seen it outside Terengganu and not even in the neighbouring states ( Kelantan or Pahang). The sauce of the papaya salad is actually made from sardines (grilled and shredded), palm sugar, shrimp paste, chili paste, vinegar/tamarind. The papaya salad is supposed to be eaten with fried fish crackers (keropok kering). Now, after 3 years in Terengganu, I'm begining to like the papaya salad.

Next- it is the only thing that I can prepare on my own - papaya pickles! I actually made the papaya pickles last week. It's quite expensive if you want to buy the ready made papaya pickles. 100 gm dah beringgit2. So, it's better to prepare it on your own and it's free from food preservatives or food coloring . I actually jolok betik tu kat belakang rumah my mother in law! To make papaya pickles you actually need to look for unripen papaya which is firm and the flesh is white to light orange in color. Yang I buat tu dah termerah sikit. I just put some vinegar, sugar and salt. Usually, I would keep it in the fridge for a day and have it the next day. Skali hadap je.

Well friends, eat lots of papaya. A papaya a day keeps the doctor away! It's also good for your skin..


Have a beautiful Sunday everyone! Thanks for dropping by..



35 comments:

  1. Kita baru beli papaya ari ni..sedapkan Som Tam n jeruk tu..ermmm..terus terliur..

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  2. this is good..adeh..great appetizer..the shoot for ulam has to be boiled..its bitter..no idea how to make it not so bitter :)

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  3. uhhh i pun suka bangat papaya...kat rumah mesti ada papay and i boleh habiskan 1/2 of it sorang2 je :-)
    som tam sedap but then tk pernah try terengganu punya papaya salad tu..

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  4. i've tried som tam once but i didnt like it so much.. coz i tak makan tauge..:D
    the salad looks yummy!

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  5. Mmmm - these all look very delicious! Its dinner time here and my mouth is now watering!

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  6. som tam i tak pernah dgr hehe but pernah la makan acar betik lebih kurang cam tu
    i papaya bbf masa pregnant senang buang air besar kekekek-
    i suka papaya comel sweet and perah limau nipis hm heavennnn

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  7. som tam yang bebetul orang siam buat sangat pedas kan.. lepas makan tu 5 minit takleh bercakap sebab lidah pedas sangat...hehe tapi sedap..

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  8. The Som Tam & the Terengganu Papaya pickles had not break through to Sarawak yet ha ha...but I'd love to try and taste them! They sure look yummy :) Your papaya pickles looks very tempting. Over here the unripe papayas are shredded just like your Terengganu papaya salad before made into those papaya pickles of yours.

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  9. Azmiezas-I especially suke som tam yg masam2 manis pedas tu..

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  10. Pink Mama- wish I could bagi u sikit..hehe

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  11. Umihoney-ooo..pahit ya. I donno how does it taste.

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  12. zarin-oh ye ke? u pun x penah try rojak tganu. Ye lah tak ramai org jual. susah nak jumpa

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  13. fatenton- somtam mana ada togeh yang..Kalau yg ori Thai mmg takde togeh. Rojak betik Tganu yg ada togeh.

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  14. Dragonfly-Hi Karen. Thanx for stopping by.They are defineitely delicious. Wish I could share them with you..

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  15. Ermayum- som tam ni susah nak jumpa kat tepi2 jalan kat selangor.Nak try kene pegi restoran siam yg pure. Kat kelantan banyak sbb dekat thailand.Macam kerabu mangga je tapi ganti buah betik.

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  16. Lady Of Leisure- ye lah mmg pedas. Slalunya dorang akan tanya nak pedas atau tak. I definitely ckp taknak pedas.Kalau pedas berasap telinga nanti..

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  17. Puan Isah- You can find Som Tam at Thai restaurant. You should try cause it's so nice.

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  18. Great pictures! I love the very top one of the birds. :-)

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  19. sekali hadap yang tak tahan tu... hehehe...
    betui la .. love the birdy & pawpaw pics :)

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  20. What a coincidence that you wrote about papaya because I had been thinking about this fruit over the weekend and actually bought one earlier today. My girls don't like the smell of papaya, they say it stinks but I still force them to eat it. I love papaya salad and ripe papaya.

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  21. Susannah- Thanks for dropping by!

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  22. Ojah- Thank you Ojah. Happy to hear from you again.

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  23. Rose Belle- Yeah, it does have unpleasant smell but it tastes good..Fortunately, my children love papaya so much and always help finish the papaya.

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  24. I normally make papaya soup or dessert. I once brought cut up papaya to work and when I opened my container, it released this, urmm..., stinky smell so yeah, I learned not to bring papaya to work from then on.

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  25. Xiao Yen Recipes- Papaya soup is nice. My mother used to make unripe papaya soup when I was small.

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  26. Photo burung sedang berusaha untuk makan kepaya tu best dan cantik. Suka makan kepaya keruk dengan sudu. Pheh..bestnya.

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  27. this is new...tak penah try pun rojak ganu.

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  28. rb-Thank You. I love the photo too. Masa kecik2 dulu I pun suka keruk. Tembikai pun I keruk! Best mkn camtukan?

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  29. ComeyBlako- yelah..ramai yg tak pernah tgok n try. kat kelantan takdok!

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  30. jeruk betikkkk..lame tak makan...

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  31. maya amir- hi thnks for dropping by! I memang peminat jeruk betik. Sanggup buat sendiri tuh!

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  32. Baru2 ni eynda try salad betik...sedap....pas tu eynda suka jugak la jeruk betik...dah lama tak beli...terliur dah tengok gambar tu..nak pi cari nanti :-)

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  33. Eynda- Ye lah..Hari tu Eynda ada tunjuk gmbar dlm post eynda. mmg sedap kalau org pandai buat. Saya buat jeruk betik sokmo sekarang. Kwn2 dan anak2 suka. Permintaan tinggi..

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  34. Oh how I love papaya! I grew up in Brunei and your lovely blog is bringing back so many wonderful memories - the sights, the sounds, the smells, the food!

    Thank you for visiting my little space!

    Ingrid x

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