July 16, 2008

I'm Sweet On Sour Kamias

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For me, one of the downsides to living far from the Philippines is I never get to enjoy my favorite Philippine fruits such as the greenest Indian mangoes, unripe guavas, kamias, semi-ripe green tamarind, and santol. They all have one thing in common, they are all sour ranging from the extreme to moderate and sweetish. I was reminded of my love for these pucker-inducing fruits when I read Marvin's recent trip to the Philippines. Staring at the photos of green mangoes and the kamias with sea salt had me salivating and wanting to pluck them right from the computer screen. One of my favorite snacks was kamias freshly picked from the tree, dipped in rock sea salt. I used to stand in front of the tree and ate them until I had my fill. Kamias is used in the Philippines as a souring agent for soups and for stewed mackerel (tulingan). My mother also chops or slices them as condiment for noodles. Although I prefer eating these sour fruits as they are, I also love them candied.

kamias photo source TopTropicals.com


dried kamias


Spanish mackerel ready for stewing in dried kamias, sea salt, and fried pork fat

Stewed Spanish Mackerel

2 medium-size whole Spanish mackerel, cleaned and slashed lengthwise
hydrated dried kamias, reserve liquid
sea salt to taste
a very small piece of pork belly with fat, sliced and fried crisp
banana leaf, optional
  • Line a skillet with banana leaf, sprinkle with half a T of sea salt, half of the dried kamias and half of the fried pork fat. Place fish on skillet, sprinkle with another half T of sea salt, top with the remaining dried kamias and pork fat. Pour the reserved liquid in the skillet and add enough water to cover fish. Let boil, cover the skillet and cook over medium heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Serve with steamed rice.
I'm sending this post to this week's Lasang Pinoy Sundays

10 comments:

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

You said it: I miss all the green sour things! Kamias was one of our favourites: we used to have a tree in our background. Yummy with salt!

Chibog in Chief said...

i love kamias..specially the candied one..my dad use to make pangat with lots of kamias..this dish reminded me so much of that dish :-)

raissa said...

I love kamias too and all those green sour things as well. LOL I prefer the greenish tamarind to the brown one. When I read Marvin's post and now this post, my mouth started to water. I miss those as well. Balimbing (or star fruit) isnt as sour but its so good as well with rock salt.

 gmirage said...

Oggi,this is your LAsang Pinoy entry pala...

And its friday Im just reminding you to post for food friday! hehe pass yata ako or baka later...

Just looking at the photos makes me salivate lol. Happy weekend!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this looks so good oggi. Are the dried versions just as sour as the fresh? Where'd you find the dry? I'm definitely going to have to look for dried kamias now!

Anonymous said...

that photo of the plump kamias just sent some serious drooling here! i remember eating kamias and dipping on asin or patis! woooh! *drool again* i have the dried ones though and it's such a life saver when i run out of powdered pang-asim! hey i just got a link back that's why i knew you had an entry, you might want to leave your name so other participants can visit you too:) just a thought...and thanks!

Shreya said...

that looks like the black tamarind or kodampuli used in South India! we use it to spice all fish curries, esply mackarel, sardine, anchovies etc..Beautiful dish you have here:-)

Oggi said...

JS, I really miss these sour stuff.:(

Dhanggit, yeah we call the tulingan dish pinangat or pangat in my hometown of Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Raissa, oh I love green tamarind. I used to climb the tree in my cousin's backyard in Quezon province. Somehow the balimbing I buy here are a little bit milder and watery.
We can all agree we love sour stuff.:)

G, thanks for the reminder.:)

Marvin, I got them from my Filgrocer. They are also sour and have a slightly smoky flavor which I love specially with mackerel.

Ces, my mouth waters just thinking about the fruits.:)

Shreya, thanks!:)
I also have brown sour tamarind somewhere in my fridge which I use for Asian recipes.

Anonymous said...

I missed dropping by on sour Sunday :)

My girls who love all things sour couldn't eat these things. lol! They were fascinated by how they grow on the tree though.

Oggi said...

JMom, yeah fruits coming out of its trunk is fascinating.:)

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