Regarding eating jackfruit salad.

Back in the countryside, wearing shorts, bareheaded, and barefoot, every child knew jackfruit salad by heart. Growing up and struggling to make a living far from home, sometimes when a pang of longing arises, the image of a plate of jackfruit salad comes back like a distant dish rediscovered. Of course, it's just a lingering taste, but it's a scent that evokes nostalgia. The more you remember, the more you long for the day you can return home to eat this dish that embodies the spirit of your homeland. No wonder, as soon as I put down my backpack, after a few questions from my mother about my work, I immediately got to the point: "Mom, work is fine; but as for food, I want to eat jackfruit salad."

Jackfruit salad

Jackfruit is a commonly grown tree in the rural areas of Central Vietnam. There are vast orchards of jackfruit trees, and even those in yards, near wells, and on haystacks bear abundant fruit. I remember when I was little, I wanted to eat jackfruit salad, and my mother told me I had to... climb the tree to get some. My sister and I went to the backyard and kept picking the fruit by pressing down on the male stamens. My mother laughed and explained that the male stamens were useless because they were formed from the male stamens, had a bitter taste, and would fall off the tree after a short time. That's when I learned that young jackfruit, pollinated by the female stamens, is small but has a slightly rough texture and evenly spaced thorns, making it delicious in salads. Besides salads, young jackfruit is also used in braised fish and soups. And, young jackfruit goes very smoothly with vermicelli and fermented fish sauce.

Even though everyone in the neighborhood makes jackfruit salad with shrimp, pork belly, pig's ears, etc., my mother remains "faithful" to the original recipe: boiled young jackfruit, sliced, mixed with a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chili, garlic, a little peanuts, and cilantro. She says the shrimp and pork overpower the flavor of the young jackfruit, which would be a waste. At our family meals, no matter what other dishes are served, this simple jackfruit salad always plays the main role, attracting chopsticks from all sides. Sometimes, when we're tired of rice, we just scoop up the jackfruit salad with crispy rice crackers – a truly delicious meal.

I've been addicted to jackfruit salad since I was a child. It's safe to say that all of this gluttonous boy's childhood memories are encapsulated in jackfruit salad. This traditional dish is inseparable from the memories of my hometown. The old jackfruit tree, with its lush branches and leaves, is a whole world full of poetic charm…

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ve-an-mit-tron-185241010173720796.htm