Prepping a pomelo for a spicy Thai salad that I wanted to post about seemed such a simple first step to me. Until Miss 17 wandered in and remarked, with a bit of an eyeroll on the side, "Mama, they probably won't even know what a pomelo IS or how to peel one!"
So, allow me to introduce the Pomelo.
In Thai we call it a Som-O (ส้มโอ): the largest of all the citrus fruits and sometimes approaching the dimensions of a small basketball.
The pomelo, or in scientific terms Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis, is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, i.e., non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Source
Think of it as a non-bitter, not-sour, leaning-towards-sweet grapefruit. Astounding, complex flavor! One of my favorite Asian fruits! So I was EXCITED to see them cheap, cheap, cheap at the local evening market on Saturday (USD 30 cents each), and I INSTANTLY decided I'd be making a Yum Som-O (Spicy Thai Som-O Salad) and posting about it. But first, pomelo prep.
Pomelo's can be daunting to Asian food newbies; if you try to peel it western style like an orange, you end up with a big drippy mess. Like always, technique is everything.
Here's How.
Slice off both ends, and marvel at how much white pitch a pomelo actually has.
Once both ends are off, you want to score (sharp knife required!) the peel in quarters - all the way through the peel and the pith, down to the fruit hiding inside.
Got strong hands? You're going to need them, cos next we PULL the peel and most of the pith off in 4 segments.
Pause and just marvel at the level of protective pith on these babies, will you? Unlike hybrid, thin-skinned, western, citrus relatives, Pomelo's grow happily without pesticides, since the bitter pith protects the fruit perfectly. As nature intended.
So, then we need to try and strip off as much of the remaining pith that's left.
When you've got as much off as is easily coming off, we're going to halve it, and halve again, so we have 4 segments.
Pomelo's defeat people for 2 reasons - the pith, and the incredibly tough membranes between the segments'. Is it worth the trouble to peel it properly? Oh my Sweet Goddess YES! The taste is like nothing else!
So - using a SHARP KNITE, we're next going to cut the top off the membranes in each segment.
We then pull the membrane away and carefully remove the whole citrus segment.
The seeds are BIG and you can just pull them out with your fingers. I will be PLANTING these later today, since it was a particularly good pomelo and they grow easily from seed and bear fruit abundantly where I live in Northern Thailand. #FoodForest in my future!
The end objective- a nice, big bowl of juicy citrus magic!
Two choices at this point: (a) grab a coconut and your pomelo, call the houseboy or switch the fan on and head over to your hammock; or (b) decide to make a YUMMY, spicy Thai Yum Som-O - a spicy Thai pomelo salad.
If you chose (b), tune in here again tomorrow for a simple step-by-step How To.
Don't be scared of ingredients you've never used before and be willing to laugh it off if it's not perfect. Most of all, ENJOY NEW FLAVORS and dishes from cultures around the world.
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