Tamarind (酸豆, 羅望子)

I have seen tamarind in Cambodia, and in fact all over South East Asia.  Finally I tasted it in Laos in September 2019, on an exploring trip looking for a potential site as well as partner for service-learning. I also got to see tall tamarind trees bearing thousands of pods.  It was my friend Sam who showed me the trees, and also how to eat it. 

When I saw it in a supermarket in Hong Kong today, I got some for my wife to taste. The flesh inside the shell is dark brown, slightly sweet and a bit sour.  

Then I look it up online, and realized that it is very useful.  It can be used for food and also medicine.   For example, a version of Tom Yum soup (冬蔭功) derive its sourness from tamarind.

I have heard of 羅望子 before, and I heard that it can be used to add sourness to food. I have also known tamarind for many years, from my trips to South East Asia.  But I hadn’t connected the two until today.

On the one hand, you truly learn something new everyday.   On the other hand, so many things that so not seem related may turn out to be surprisingly connected.  The world can seem big, but also small, at the same time.