Passport & Plate - Myanmar Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 Dragonfruit
1 Bunch of Grapes
.5 Kilos of Strawberries
3 Oranges
1 Guava
2 tablespoons of Sugarcane Juice
1 Street Spice Bag of Tumeric, Salt, Sugar, and Chili Powder
How to prepare this recipeServes 2-3 people in your hostel
Cut the dragonfruit, strawberries, and guava into equal size pieces (about the size of the grapes). Put this along with the grapes and two peeled oranges into a bowl. Set aside.
For the dressing use the sugarcane juice and the juice of one of the oranges. Mix together and pour onto the fruit. Mix the fruit and dressing together. Sprink the street condiment bag of spices onto your salad. Bon Appetit!
The story behind this recipeI am currently traveling the world. I heard about the contest just after I landed in Myanmar. Two things I love to explore in the places I visit are the local food markets and ways I can stay healthy while traveling. A fruit salad is the perfect way to combine both. Plus, I was looking forward to the challenge of figuring out local fruits to include.
After taking my first few days in Yangon, Myanmar to scope out the local food markets, I finally found where I could purchase most of my produce. I spent the next day compiling my list of ingredients and asking my hostel worker friends the best prices for each.
Why did I pick the fruit I did? While strawberries, grapes, and oranges are pretty common ingredients back home in the states, they are also very common here. Outside of Dalat, Vietnam, I have seen more strawberries in Myanmar than any other country I've visited in Southeast Asia. Grapes (especially bright purple ones) are also everywhere and I have even heard rumors of wineries in some parts of the country. I can only hope! Oranges are just a great addition to any fruit salad for the citrus flavor.
Dragonfruit and guava were chosen for their localness to Southeast Asia. As tropical fruit, you can find them in most of the countries down here. While dragonfruit is very colorful and bright on the ouside, the inside is soft and plain white with tiny black seeds. The guava was a way to add some crunch to the fruit salad. A fruit salad should not only have a variety of colors and flavors, but also have different textures.
The dressing and topping are also local ingredients that you can find on almost every street corner. Sugarcane juice is probably terrible for your teeth, but it's cool and refreshing in the scorching heat of the region. The bag of spices adds a burst of color on top and subtle flavor that melds the fruits all together.
Fruit salad is an easy way to try lots of different fruits in a country, forces you to explore the local markets, and is healthy!
