Tamarind, also known as acacia prickly, is a plant that lives in the tropics. (Illustration) It is not known when they appeared, but the shady rows of tamarind have become a familiar image of the Vietnamese countryside. The trunk is tall, coniferous and often grows wild, without needing to be nursed or fertilized. And the most attractive thing for the children is the swaying bunches of fruit at the top. Called tamarind, but this fruit grows all the way up. (Illustration) Although the water tamarind is divided into segments like normal sour tamarind, each fruit is bent into a strange curved circle. Water tamarind when young, the skin is green, flat and relatively hard. When it reaches maturity, it expands on both sides of the fruit body to reveal the white flesh and black seeds inside. But the most attractive is when they get old and turn pink and red, making all children crave. Tamarind water when ripe turns pinkish red and bends back into a ring. (Illustration) Picking tamarind is not easy, because the trunk has many thorns, so few dare to climb it. But the most “lucky” way is to throw stones to let them fall or wait until they fall, then pick them up and enjoy. They’re used to eating, so every time the fruit is ripe, they all stand under the tree “soup tamarind”. If you want to pick tamarind, you have to poke or throw stones to make the fruit fall. (Illustration) Although the layer of rice is a bit viscous, it has a very strange sweetness. There is no need to dip anything in salt and fish sauce, just chew on the white meat, wait for the aroma to spread slowly, very pleasing to the mouth. In addition, a little bit of flesh on the outside of the shell lingers in the throat, making the children want to eat again and again. The simple taste has gone into the carefree memories of many people. (Illustration) No one can resist this delicious childhood taste. (Illustration) Currently, tamarind does not seem to appear much even in the countryside. That’s why people sometimes forget the familiar food of that time, but every time they recall the image of tamarind swaying “inviting” so provocatively that all the children have to make a fuss, it’s like childhood rushing back. Such small joys are such a dear part of rural children.

Amok is a famous traditional Cambodian dish and is a symbol when it comes to the culinary quintessence of the golden pagoda country. Amok steamed fish combines many ingredients such as fish, palm sugar, coconut water, and soaked fish sauce to create a unique flavor for the dish. The main ingredient used to make this Cambodian specialty is snakehead fish or catfish, but the most delicious is still fruit fish because these fish have a lot of meat, less bones, and fish are not broken. Besides, the dish also includes other ingredients such as khong, coconut milk, eggs, palm sugar, prohock fish sauce and a few leaves (or leaves) to create color or flavor for the dish. Especially to cook this dish must have all the ingredients because without any kind of flavor, there is a lack of originality. The way to make the Amok steamed fish dish is also quite sophisticated and complex. The first is mango, beef sauce, sugar and eggs, beaten into a mixture, turmeric powder, cooked for a viscous consistency, attractive colors. Clean fish, remove the intestines and wrap the whole piece of fish into this mixture, add a few leaves and wrap it with banana leaves and steam. Before serving, people will add a scoop of coconut milk and a few slices of chili to make Amok steamed fish more fragrant. A fragrance mixed with coconut milk, chili, fish sauce, extremely attractive sugar smell makes you want to eat immediately. Peeling off the banana leaves emits a smoky and scent smell. Try a bite, anyone will be fascinated by both the taste and the taste. It is a little taste of fish, the aroma of banana leaves, the pulp of eggs and a little fat of coconut milk, the sweet sweetness of palm sugar is extremely strange. The golden color of turmeric and other cooking ingredients gives the Amok steamed fish a very beautiful color. This dish is better when eaten while still hot and must be eaten with glutinous rice and a glass of palm leaf wine that is really “extreme”. Amok steamed fish is a typical Cambodian dish not only appearing in daily meals but also in luxury restaurants. When enjoying this dish you must also slowly, slowly eat each piece so that the delicious flavors gradually dissolve in your mouth. That way, one can fully feel the quintessential, wonderful combination of two seemingly unrelated ingredients: fish and coconut. Photo: IT. Invite readers to watch the video “Fluttering the price of 1 million only a few dishes, not both rice and sticky rice”. Source: VTV TSTC.