Hey there, it’s been a while! I’m still here. I want to let you know that I’m shifting the content of my blog to something that has a completely different learning curve for me. I still love books and I still am fighting for the AANHPI cause, but in a different way.
So welcome to my cooking blog! Here you will find recipes that marry the flavors of our family heritage: Chinese, Filipino, Mexican (and since we live in the US, American, of course).
“Why a cooking blog?” you ask. Cooking has always been a passion of mine. I once dreamt of going to culinary school. “How is this any different from other cooking blogs?” Honestly, I’m not sure. All I know is that during the pandemic and having our second child has brought us closer to reconnecting to our roots. Since then, our little family of four have been learning a new language, celebrating major holidays from all three countries, crafting, reading, learning, and of course, cooking.
Our family is mixed: a growing diaspora here in the United States. I often wonder if my kids would feel out of place, not knowing how to identify themselves. But as Dr. Jenn would put it, they’re both (all!).
So if you’re feeling neither here nor there, kind of lost somewhere in between, I welcome you to our dining table- where representation matters.
About today’s recipe…
My favorite Mexican treat is Mangoes with Chamoy. My husband, on the other hand, is not a fan of chamoy. He loves mangoes, just as much as our youngest daughter and myself love it. Just… not the chamoy. So I embarked on a challenge: to create a chamoy recipe he likes.
I found a basic recipe online for chamoy that I started with. The ingredients are: prunes, nectarines, sugar, chili powder and lime juice. Full stop. This actually sounds like a treat I used to eat as a kid. And, not only that, but it sounds suspiciously similar. It’s called “kiamoy”. Kiamoy, as I remember it, is a dried sour plum (prune) that has been coated in a red powder commonly known as “li hing mui” (旅行梅). Li Hing Mui’s flavor can be described as salty, sweet, and tart. Li Hing Mui is also a popular addition to Hawaiian candies and gummies. I suppose Mexican and Filipino (Chinese) culture has more similarities than I previously thought.
I decided to take this a step further and add another popular Filipino ingredient: tamarind. In the Philippines, tamarind is used to make a hot and sour soup. You add veggies and your choice of protein and a dash of fish sauce to make a comforting meal on a cooler day. It is also popular as a snack in its raw form. In Mexico, tamarind is the primary ingredient in Tamarindo, a candy made from tamarind pulp, sugar and sometimes a little chili. The application is different, but I am assured they will combine well.
It’s October now, and as I am writing this, mangoes are no longer in season. Our local antojitos stand will be back in the summer. As for the mangoes, you can still find them frozen in groceries. For this experiment, I decided to feature a fruit that is equally loved in my home, but not traditionally used for this snack: persimmons.
There’s many varieties of persimmons that this Serious Eats article explains in detail, but for this recipe, I used Fuyu persimmons. I chose one that was ripe but still had a bit of crunch to mimic the texture of mangoes. Compared to mangoes, persimmons are milder to the palate; the perfect backdrop for the complex flavors of this chamoy recipe.
The verdict: my husband loved it! So much, that even after all the (frozen) mangoes were gone, he was scooping out the bits of sauce left at the bottom of the glass.
So there you have it. A husband- approved, sweet, spicy, tart, salty treat. Worthy of eating on its own.
Tamarind Chamoy
Yield: 2 cups
Prep Tme: 5 minutes
Active Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Assembly: 5 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1/3 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup prunes
⅓ cup tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
3 cups water
⅓ cup tajin (I use the low sodium variety)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients, minus the lime juice in a saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often, so the sugars don’t burn the bottom of the pan.
Let cool, add lime juice and blend. Add water as necessary to get to your desired consistency.
Top it on your mangoes, persimmons, or eat it straight out of the blender!
Hey It's Jen Lou 