Saphli, ThailandSaturday, December 21, 2013
Long time readers of this blog may recall that Frank sees it as a personal challenge to try every tropical fruit that Thailand has to offer. Rose apples, dragon fruit, sapadillos, rambutans--all are old stuff by now. This time he came home from the fruit market with something that neither of us had ever seen before--and which required both persistence and gloves (which we did not have) to open. Various consultations with the hotel staff and Google gave us this answer: it's called "salak" or snakefruit (Salacca zalacca). The spines on the fruit can get in your skin like so many tiny slivers and most of what's inside that dreadful skin is a big pit. But the fruit is interesting and quite tasty nonetheless. Turns out it's the fruit of certain palm trees (just as dates are) and common throughout Southeast Asia. Don't look for it in a supermarket near you--it's way too much work.