A Fruit Cart in Itaewon

Last weekend we headed to Crown antiques in Itaewon. We stopped at a fruit cart because we always get sidetracked by food. This one featured pomegranates and dried and fresh persimmons on his cart. Who can resist a fresh, dried persimmon?

Not the Jack-o-Lantern

When I can't go to Lotte Department Store food court for my favorite hobak juk, I eat the boxed version. Here I am stocking up on porridges at E-mart:I had always assumed that pumpkin (the Halloween decoration on American front porches) was the primary ingredient, as indicated by the name. I guess I never noticed the small green squash on the lower right hand corner of the box!It turns out that pumpkin refers to kabocha squash. According to Wikipedia, kabocha goes by "Japanese pumpkin" in Southeast Asia and "kabocha squash" in North America. Over 90% of American-grown kabocha is exported to Asia. I can see why - it's the main ingredient for a variety of products.

Candy: A dish resembling potato salad:Rice cake filling:Here is the kabocha squash in its natural state. Though low in calories, it can be filling. It's a great source of fiber and beta carotene.Cutting and peeling can be difficult. E-mart sells them stripped-and-skinned: I cut it in half and bake it at 385F for 30 minutes. Then I eat slices of it plain for a snack. The peel is edible.

Discovering the kabocha opened a new world of vegetables: the squashes. They're so nutritious and easy to prepare. They can sit for weeks until you have the motivation to eat a vegetable!

The Fruit Man Near Yongsan Station

My friend's favorite fruit man was out late on Sunday night. One bag for 2000 won!They've been pretty bland so far. I hope he threw at least one sweet one in my bag!

Tropical Fruits

I tried four new fruits in Thailand:Red guava (center) was delicious! The texture and flavor were to die for. One guava contains four times the vitamin C of an orange. It's high in antioxidants, beta carotene and fiber too.
The white fleshed fruit with a green layer was crunchy and flavorful. Unfortunately, I don't know its name.
Dragon fruit or red pitaya (top) was my favorite fruit last year in Thailand. Don't be fooled by its unusual black seeds and zany exterior (see below) - this fruit is quite bland, just the way I like it! Its texture reminded me of watermelon, and its tasted slightly like vanilla or coconut.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Dragon fruit is high in vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants, just like guava. It's actually the fruit of a cactus!
Jackfruit (right)...I'm not sure where to start with this fruit. First off, I just learned that jackfruit is another name for the infamous durian. If I had known I were eating durian, I would have been more hesitant. (Everyone knows that ripe durian smells nasty, so bad that carrying it on airplanes is illegal in Asia. The fruit is also very expensive and messy to cut.) Of all the fruit I purchased, the jackfruit was the only one I left behind. Something about the chewy texture and sharp, overly sweet taste made it difficult to eat.
I quickly learned that the yellow flesh hid a walnut-sized seed. The seed can be cooked and eaten like a chestnut.

Jackfruit is the largest fruit grown on a tree. According to Wikipedia, some jackfruits weigh 80 pounds and measure 10 inches in diameter! The fruit's interior contains the flesh-covered seeds.

I hope I can find delicious guava and dragon fruit at home. It's a shame that we are stuck in an apple-orange-banana world in the United States. Then again, Thailand is stuck in its pineapple-jackfruit-dragonfruit world. We all need to expand our horizons!

Korean American Friendship Gift

On Friday the Korean American Friendship Committee delivered gifts to hospital departments. The box said "Fru Story...when you wish to send your sincere heart":

I love the way Koreans use the English language. I'm not sure I even understand what this phrase means. The more I read it, the less sense it makes! My question is, do Koreans write this way on purpose, or is something lost in translation? Anyway, the box contained individually-wrapped apples and persimmons:

The crisp Fuyu next to its squishy Hachiya cousin:

I guess the aptly-shaped Hachiya could symbolize giving one's sincere heart.

Persimmon, the Korean Mango

I had never seen a persimmon until this year, even though California is the #1 persimmon producer in the United States. The two main types are Hachiya and Fuyu.
Hachiya is heart- or acorn-shaped. Because of the high tannin levels, Hachiya persimmons must be fully ripe before consumption. Koreans call this persimmon hongsi. Ripe hongsi are so soft that Emart sells them in plastic containers. The ripe fruit is really so soft that you can scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Make sure you don't eat the white part near the seeds, unless you want constipation.As you can tell from the orange color, persimmon is an excellent source of beta-carotene, the pre-cursor to vitamin A. It's also an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C and manganese. That amorphous mass has about 118 calories, most of it from sugar.

The other main type, Fuyu, is short, squat and non-astringent. It resembles a flattened tomato. Koreans call it dan gam.

Unlike the Hachiya, the Fuyu can be eaten when firm or when soft. (I dare you to try a firm Hachiya!)

I travelled to Emart to find persimmon products. The produce department carried dried persimmons or gotgam:

Supposedly the persimmon vinegar (gamsikcho) has holistic properties:

Another persimmon beverage, sujeonggwa, is a traditional Korean drink. It contains spices and dried persimmons. Here is the canned version:

Enjoy persimmon season!