Best Way To Eat Guava

I don't know if this qualifies as a pickle but in Malay it is called Jeruk Jambu Batu Asam Boi and the word jeruk means pickle. Or perhaps the word "marinated" would be more appropriate.

Eating guava with asam boi (preserved plums) is nothing new and I remember it being a sensation when I was in secondary school.

Everywhere you go, there are fruit stalls or guava stalls dedicated to selling this fruit with a sprinkling of asam boi powder. It's still very popular of course. 

Guava was never a favorite of mine due to it's rather bland taste and hard seeds. In Terengganu, it is also called buah butir banyok (fruit with many seeds). I remember my mum loving it, she could munch through a very hard guava, seeds and all, without the asam boi powder.

What prompted me to buy a guava and some buah kedondong (ambra) is a recipe I bookmarked from Dari Dapur MaDiHaA - Jeruk Kedondong Asamboi. Just the name alone, my salivary glands worked overtime.

The recipe uses whole asam boi (cut into smaller pieces) instead of powdered asam boi. 

It's not difficult to make this delicious marinated fruits, just wash, peel and slice. Then mix everything up with the cut up asam boi and let it marinate for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.

Most recipes I came across call for adding sugar. But I did not do this because I don't like it too sweet. After all, the asam boi itself does contain some sugar.

A word about the buah kedondong. I get mine from the supermarket and depending on luck, some of the kedondong are young and you won't have to deal with the fibrous mid section.

The ones I bought were mostly matured and I had to cut away the mid section. Perhaps if you bought these from the market, you could choose the young tender ones.

Well, this is a delicious way to eat sour fruits and it makes guava so tasty. A fruit stall at The Starling is selling these marinated fruits at RM2.80 per 100g. When I find unripe mango, I'll be marinating those too.

Guava Marinated with Asam Boi

Recipe source : Adapted from Dari Dapur MaDiHaA

Ingredients :

- 1 large guava

- 6 buah kedondong (ambra)

- 2 packets of asam boi

Method :

1. Wash and peel the guava and ambra and cut into bit sized pieces.

2. Remove the flesh of the asam boi from the seeds and cut into smaller pieces.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix the cut fruits with the asam boi.

4. Keep in a container and let marinate for a few hours or overnight before consuming.