The Food That Made Me

DISCLAIMER: I picked the links for the pictures. I haven’t tried the recipes.

Kids, before having crushes on girls, mangoes were my first love. There were these bags of Filipino sugary dried mangoes. Mango sticky rice with coconut milk was the perfect blend of sweet and sticky. Mango sago gave me a taste of Hong Kong whenever needed. Mango ice cream. Mango mochi with ice cream. Mango mousse cakes for my birthdays. Mango puddings with evaporated milk were hits or misses. Spicy dried mango slices at life group were the pick-me-up that I needed. Mango boba on Irving St as a child, being treated by my younger older sister (細家姐). This was one of the few places I found real mango being used instead of that yucky powdered stuff. Mango is gorgeous with that orange-yellow flesh and sweetness when it is ripe. As an adult, I learned about mango lassi. Ok, I do love mango candy too. The Japanese gummies from Kasugai. Mango Hi-Chews. Gah. I’m drooling now.

Some fun facts I learned are that there are 100s of varieties, but we eat mostly the Tommy Atkins, which are firmer with a more fibrous texture and less sweet. Alphonso is much sweeter and is sometimes known as the “King of Mangoes.” They are distant cousins of cashews and pistachios, which boogles my mind. Less than 1% of the flowers will mature. It takes about 4 months for the fruit to mature, and each one is harvested by hand, the knowledge of which makes them even more precious to me. The mango is the national fruit of Pakistan, India, and the Philippines, and it seems to have originated in India. I was surprised by Pakistan, so we are all learning here.

Here is how you cut a mango:

1. If you are handling multiple mangos, you should wear gloves so you don’t get itchy.
2. Cut the fruit in half vertically. You will hit a pit, so try to cut around it.
3. Cut the flesh in a gridlike pattern or slice and scoop out. Watch out for avocado hands, and do this on a cutting board or a plate.
4. When I was younger, I would hold onto the skin and try to eat out each little cube one at a time. I would probably recommend scooping them out, and remember to wash your hands thoroughly after.

I learned that I may be allergic to mangoes in kindergarten after eating a lot the day before. It was an unfortunate moment in my life. Do I have to say goodbye to my first love? Luckily, my mom didn’t think so. I was just monitored so that I had much less of it. And, honestly, ever since that reaction, I don’t recall having a response to it.

Later in my adult life, I have been disappointed by Costco and Trader Joe’s. I don’t enjoy cutting my own fruit, but that is a story for another time. The temptation of already-cut fruit is strong. But when you bring it home and bite into it, you realize it is inedible. Maybe you can put it into smoothies. But it cannot be enjoyed as it is. It is hard and tasteless.

And, the little detective in me has finally figured out why I had an allergic reaction. At work, I learned from my boss’s boss’s boss that mango skin has urushiol, an oily allergenic chemical that is the same itch-inducing oil as poison ivy and poison oak, so I may have touched the mango skin enough to have a reaction when I was younger. Oops.

The current me still loves a Mango Funtime from Teaspoon. Give me some sweet, real fruit blended to perfection. I still can’t resist a mango sticky rice if I see it on the menu. I can’t resist many mango-related items when I see them on a menu. Mango retains a special and familiar place in my heart. I am happy to have food that tugs at my heart. It reminds me that life can be simple, but I must be careful about my skin.

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