Nguyen Minh Hieu (24 years old, residing in former Tay Ninh - now Long An) and his mother experimented with making eggplant jam to welcome the Lunar New Year. Thanks to social networks, he learned about the recipe for this clear jam.
As a person who regularly cooks and records videos to post on social networks, Mr. Hieu confided: "Ca Phao jam is one of the most difficult jams for me and my mother because of the elaborate steps. It takes up to two months to produce a complete batch of jam. This is also the first time my mother has heard of this jam, but she has supported me a lot.
Before finishing this batch of jam, he and his mother were quite worried, even afraid that "sticky rice will be spoiled". The young man spent time carefully learning about the recipe before finding the ingredients to make the jam.
Minh Hieu chooses about 1 kg of fresh, round, even eggplant, cuts off the stem and soaks it in salt water mixed with lemon to avoid darkening. The soaking time lasts up to two months.
When it came to the eggplant peeling stage, both my mother and I spent several hours finishing because peeling thin skin requires extreme meticulousness and skill. The eggplant peel is thin and sticky, the peeling knife must not be left behind. If there is still the peel, the finished eggplant fruit will not be transparent," he expressed.
After peeling the eggplant, take all the seeds inside, it will continue to be soaked in lemon juice, sun-dried for half a day and washed again. A pot of alum and wine is used to soak the eggplant to make it harder and crispier. Take the eggplant out, wash thoroughly, remove the alum smell and mix well with sugar.
When simmering, you need to keep the heat low, wait until the eggplant fruit turns transparent and the sugar absorbs evenly inside," he shared his experience.
When completing the jam batch, Mr. Hieu and his mother were very surprised by the flavor of this type of eggplant jam. Right from the first bite, the tongue will feel the sweetness from the outer sugar layer, followed by the crunchy taste of the original eggplant, plus a slight sourness from the lemon juice.
Minh Hieu assessed "mixed sweet and sour flavor". Just a few hours after completing the jam batch, there was no leftover eggplant because everyone was curious to enjoy it. Minh Hieu's family praised the jam for being delicious and strange.
Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Anh (62 years old, Minh Hieu's mother), is very satisfied with this finished product. "This Tet, I will make another batch of eggplant jam to invite guests to visit and enjoy," she revealed.
Hieu plans to continue maintaining this jam in the coming years so that relatives have more new choices during reunions.
