As May unfolds, the southern provinces usher in mangosteen season, marking the arrival of mangosteen chicken salad. This dish, a sensation, remains sought after, particularly during the early summer months.
Its core ingredients consist of chicken and green mangosteen, accompanied by chili garlic fish sauce, herbs, shredded carrots and purple cabbage.
Nhu Cuong, the head chef at Ho Chi Minh City's Michelin Selected Madame Lam restaurant, notes that each year, around April-May, diners begin pre-ordering the salad. This year, Cuong has revitalized the dish by incorporating dried taro.
Sharing his expertise in making this dish, chef Cuong advises selecting firm, green-skinned mangosteens at the season's onset. Mangosteen is cultivated in the southern provinces, including Dong Nai, Vung Tau, Binh Duong, and Mekong Delta areas. It is sometimes imported from Thailand.
Venturing to the Lai Thieu orchards in Binh Duong for his fruit selection, Cuong purchases mangosteens at a rate of VND100,000-VND150,000 ($4 to $5.90) per kilogram, which is roughly 15 fruits. The price does not include shipping fees to Saigon.
“Among various locations, mangosteens from Lai Thieu and other places in Binh Duong receive high praise from restaurant chefs. The soil in these areas yields fruits with crisp flesh, a tangy flavor, and a more robust aftertaste compared to other places," Cuong said.
However, in recent years, the mangosteen cultivation area in Lai Thieu has gradually diminished due to land being repurposed for factories or rented housing. Restaurants interested in buying Lai Thieu fruit must establish early contact with the gardeners before the season begins.
Each serving of mangosteen chicken salad at Madame Lam includes 5 mangosteens. However, due to the premium cost of mangosteen, some places choose to complement it with more affordable ingredients like carrots and cabbage, resulting in a reduction of mangosteens to only one or two fruits per serving.
It’s not only expensive, but preparing this fruit requires extra attention. Incautious handling can result in sap seeping into the flesh, causing astringency and darkening of the fruit. Therefore, peeling under running water is essential, along with precise knife work to navigate the tough skin.
Post-peeling, mangosteens undergo an immediate ice-water soak to preserve crispness and avoid bruising.
To compose the salad, mangosteens are thinly sliced horizontally, resembling flower shapes. In contrast to ripe fruit, green mangosteen flesh boasts thickness and crispness, with petite seeds.
Other ingredients include onions, sliced red peppers, an array of herbs, garlic oil, roasted sesame, roasted peanuts, and crispy shredded taro. Chef Cuong substitutes garlic with garlic oil to temper its pungency, catering to both Vietnamese and international palates. Although his garlic fish sauce still contains chopped garlic.
In this salad, dried taro takes center stage as a new addition, replacing the typical ingredients of carrots and purple cabbage. According to Cuong, these two vegetables emit a more potent aroma than mangosteen, potentially overpowering the dish's characteristic fruit flavor.
The chef mixes the ingredients to allow the absorption of the fish sauce, setting aside the dried taro to prevent it from turning mushy. During the dish's presentation, the dried taro is positioned at the bottom of the salad, served as both as an ingredient and a decorative element beneath the salad. While the pre-processing stage demands approximately 15 minutes, actual salad mixing only requires 2-3 minutes.
Ngoc Bich, a resident of Binh Thanh District, shared her experience with the salad, expressing surprise at its flavor profile. She found the taro to be crispy with just the right amount of aroma, complementing rather than overpowering the fragrance of mangosteen.
"The proportion of mangosteen in this dish is satisfying," Bich said, contrasting it with last year's salad, which she recalls was inundated with excessive amounts of purple cabbage and carrots.
A serving of the mangosteen chicken salad at the restaurant is priced at VND180,000 ($7). At the onset of the season, the restaurant records approximately 20 reservations daily.
Chef Nhu Cuong explained that the salad serves as an appetizer, like a regular salad. To introduce seasonal dishes to both foreign and overseas Vietnamese diners, he placed a basket of green mangosteen at the entrance of the restaurant as a decorative touch. Many guests were surprised to learn that green mangosteen could be used to create a specialty dish.
Vincent Nguyen, a French-Vietnamese guest, admitted that he had only known mangosteen to be eaten when ripe, with its purple skin. This was his first time trying a green mangosteen salad.
"The mangosteen is pleasantly crispy, not as bitter as I expected," he noted. "While eating, I noticed a slight stickiness, but it didn't bother me much. The dish's sweet and sour flavor is perfect for a hot day," Nguyen said, after residing in Saigon for four years.
