The tall and bushy tamarind trees shadowing residential roads are popular in Hanoi. The tamarind includes sweet and sour kinds, but the sour one is superior in quantity. The immature tamarind is colored green and extremely sour. The ripe fruit containing black hard seeds is fleshier, fairly sweet and the shell’s color turns to sandy brown. When fully ripe, the flesh seems drier, colored reddish-brown and the seeds are shiny black.

The tamarind is sold in markets especially in the early of summer. The Hanoian uses tamarinds to flavor foods, particularly traditional dishes such as “Rieu cua”, Rieu ca”, “Canh chua”, etc. It is an important ingredient in many dishes like roasted crab and braised fishes. It is also blended into sauce of fried fish. Tamarind’s light sour abates fishy taste of seafood soups processed from seafood such as snakehead fish, catfish, shrimp and crab. It is also a main ingredient of Vietnamese sour soup (Canh chua) and other vegetarian dishes. It is awesome to enjoy crisp pickled green eggplants and water spinach soup boiled with a tamarind.

Tamarind is processed into many other delicious noshes such as jam (both sour and sweet kinds are used) and “Ô mai”- a sweet, sour and sometimes spicy candy. It is also blended into juice which is cool and tasty on hot summer days. Tamarind contributes to dehydration, electrolyte and provides vitamins and minerals.

                                                        Source: Hanoi’s cuisine - Hanoi City Tourism Department