Som Choon - ส้มฉุน
No. 160 ‘Fragrant Orange’
Som Choon - Heritage Thai Summer Dessert of Seedless Fruits in Pandan - Scented Sweet and Salty Syrup.
Date July 1st, 2018
Referred in the culinary poetry (กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน - Gaap He Chom Krueng Khao Whan) written by King Rama II of Thailand (When Thailand was still called Siam at that time) which was sung during the royal barge's procession, Som Choon or the dish I named 'Fragrant Orange' is considered as a traditional Thai summer delight. It is a refreshing summer dessert made from lychee (a must) and choices of another 2 seasonal sweet and sour fruits (minimum). As I mentioned earlier, Lychee is a must in this traditional Thai dessert, ironically Lychees did not originated from Thailand but from China. Lychee seeds were brought into Thailand with Chinese immigrants and/or traders and the rest is a history. Back to our dessert, all seeds must be removed. Float all the seedless fruits in a pandan-scented syrup and serve cold with shaved ice to fight the Thai summer heat (which is quite brutal). It is in the same category of ลอยแก้ว - Loy Kaew, any other sweet and sour fruits in syrup. However, from my point of view, Som Choon is more special than others as it is aromatic and contains different ingredients with different textures which don’t seem to match but surprisingly belong together.
© Dee Allinson
Ingredients 4-6 Serves :
1. Seasonal Sweet and Sour Fruits (Minimum 3 Types and must have lychee)
1001 Dishes Favourite
- 10 Fresh Lychee
- 2 Oranges
- 10 Peels Pomelo
- 10 Grapes (Prefer Seedless)
- 10 Salacca (Also can use Marian Plum)
2. Topping and Garnish
- Peeled and Julienned Green Mango 5 g per serving
- Peeled and Thinly Sliced Young Ginger
- A Touch of Crisp Deep Fired Shallots
- Sliced Roasted Peanuts (Optional)
- Roasted Shredded Coconut (Optional)
3. Aromatic Syrup
- Water or Flower Infused Water 1050 g (Traditionally preferred Flower Infused Water using rose petals or jasmine flowers but I just use water)
- Caster Sugar 710 g
- Table Salt ½ Tsp*
- 5 Pandan Leaves (Tie the knot on each leaf for it to release more aroma)
- Thinly Sliced of 2 Bitter Orange Peels (I used Lime). Try to get rid off the pith, it’s bitter.
You can subsidies Bitter Orange Peels with Bergamot Orange Peels if you don’t have Bitter Orange or even use Lime instead.
- Juice of 2 Bitter Orange (Or Bergamot Orange. I used Lime)*
- Shaved Ice to serve
* You must taste the Syrup. The preferred flavour should have a touch of saltiness, should be sweet enough for balancing the shaved ice we put in later when serve and should be predominately sour, not sharp acidity.
Bitter Orange - ส้มซ่า
Bergamot Orange - มะกรูด
Sallacca -สละ
Method
To make the syrup. Syrup must be prepared overnight.
1. Dissolve caster sugar and salt in water in the saucepan** (Put water in first so your sugar would not bounce and stick on the side of the pan and get burnt) on medium-low heat. Add pandan leaves. Stir occasionally. Bring it to boil and let it simmer for a few minutes or until syrup reduces around 20%.
2. Remove from the heat. Remove pandan leaves and add Bitter Orange Peels (I used Lime).
3. Rest until it completely cool at room temperature then separate the syrup into 2 parts. One for sweetening the fruits and the other for serving.
4. If you have fresh organic jasmine flowers, you can add them into the syrup at this step.
To prepare the fruits. Fruits also have to be prepared over night.
5. Remove the seeds of all the fruits. Remember this is a fine Thai royal dish. To find any seeds while you eat is illegal! Segment oranges and pomelo, pith and membrane free. At this step, using the sharp fruit-carving knife is the key.
6. Put all the fruits in a container. Pour in the first part of syrup. The amount of syrup you put in should cover all the fruits. Put the lid on and close it tightly. Rest it overnight in the refrigerator.
7. Also put the second half of the syrup in a container with lid and rest in the refrigerator overnight.
To Serve.
8. On the next day, sieve the second half of the syrup to remove Bitter Orange Peels. At this point your syrup should be a little yellowish green.
9. Add the juice of 2 bitter orange. Stir well. If you use lime, you should gradually add the juice little by little while keep tasting the syrup. You can add a little more table salt if you feel it's needed.
10. Take the fruits out of the syrup just for the amount you want to serve and put it in a nice bowl. Pour in the seasoned serving syrup.
11. Peel and julienne Green Mango. Peel and thinly sliced Young Ginger.
12. Put the preferred amount of shaved ice over the fruits (While there is no rules for the amount of ice, I think 50% of the amount of fruits is maximum, I like to put 40%). Top with julienned Green Mango and Sliced Young Ginger.
13. Finally add 3-5 Crisp Deep Fired Shallots. (Together with Sliced Roasted Peanuts and Roasted Shredded Coconut if preferred.) Then serve.
** I use essteele Saucepan and I am very happy with it.
Link :
essteele Saucepan
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