Sweets and drinksPreservesVietnam2 days in brine, about 2 hours cooking and drying
O mai mo runs sour, salty and sweet all at once, with a soft licorice finish at the back of the throat. The apricots shrink and wrinkle under a thin coat of licorice salt. The hardest part is the 2 days in brine, since a short soak leaves the fruit astringent and prone to mold.
Scoring the fruit all over before brining helps it release water and take on the flavor evenly. Separate the ginger juice from the pulp: the juice goes into the pan and the pulp goes in at the end, for aroma without extra moisture.
This batch weighs about 1.8kg, at roughly 47 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash 1kg green apricots and score them all over with a sharp knife.
Soak the apricots in a light brine made from 70g salt for about 2 days, then lift them out and rinse in clean water.
Peel 300g fresh ginger, wash it, pound or blend it, then separate the juice from the pulp.
Put the liquid drawn from the apricots, 400g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and the ginger juice in a pan and simmer over low heat until the mixture turns sticky.
Add the apricots and turn them through the syrup, add the ginger pulp, stir for 1 to 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
Spread the apricots on a tray and dry them in the oven at 90 degrees C until dry.
Scatter a little salt and 50g ground licorice root over the top and toss to coat.
Tips
Apricots picked just ripe give a clean sourness, neither astringent like green fruit nor easily bruised like overripe ones.
Press out most of the ginger juice and keep the pulp, so the fruit stays fragrant without turning wet.
Dry at a low temperature for longer rather than high heat, and the apricots stay pliable instead of hard.
The jar has to be bone dry, and the lid goes on only once the fruit is completely cool.
Use a dry spoon to serve, since moisture is the main cause of mold.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves more slowly, so keep the heat low and stir until the mixture is properly sticky.
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.