Man Hau Ngam Duong (Vietnamese Plums in Syrup), Sweetened with Monk Fruit
Sweets and drinksPreservesVietnam20 minutes preparation, 5 minutes to make
These preserved man hau (Vietnamese plums) need only plums, sweetener and a very dry jar. Done well they stay crisp, sweet and tart in balance, with clear, fragrant liquid around them. The hardest part is moisture: a few drops of plain water on the fruit or in the jar and the whole jar films over.
The plums have to drain completely after washing, and the jar is wiped dry and rinsed with salted boiling water. A few score lines around each plum let it give up its flavor and take on the syrup evenly.
This batch weighs about 1.5kg, at roughly 41 calories per 100g.
Method
Pull the stems off 1kg man hau (Vietnamese plums), rinse them, soak them in lightly salted water for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse again and drain thoroughly.
Wash the jar and wipe it completely dry. For extra care, rinse it with salted boiling water and let it dry fully.
Score a few lines around each plum so it releases its astringency and takes on the syrup, or cut the plums into small pieces.
Scatter a layer from the 0.5kg kOBE Monk Fruit Blend across the bottom of the jar, add a layer of plums, and continue alternating, sprinkling a few grains of salt between the layers.
Finish with a layer of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend over the last of the plums, seal the jar, and leave it for the fruit to draw out its juice and dissolve the blend.
Tips
Leave the skins on, since they keep the plums crisp and hold the color.
After the limewater soak, rinse very thoroughly, as any residue makes the plums bitter.
Layer the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend on the bottom of the jar first and the plums on top, since the other way around leaves the bottom layer slow to release its juice.
The jar and your hands have to be bone dry, as a single drop of water is enough to grow a film on the whole jar.
Weigh the plums down with a bamboo lattice or a clean bag of water so they stay submerged, since anything above the liquid darkens.
Keep the jar somewhere cool and out of the sun, since sunlight turns the liquid sharply sour.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.