Duyan Untuh...

Subs topic : Durian ? The King of Fruits?

Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera to all?

Dear reader, may peace be upon you?

Duyan Untuh is ?kedayan? phrase as (Chef Nana would sayit) for Durian Runtuh ? meaning thefall of Durians fruits, some understand it as ?luck just got you?.

The month of October is gone, which make this as my firstpost in November. Since I blog in March, last month was the least post with 3posts and yeah I haven?t reach 100th post yet, it seems a long wayto go though but I believed the moment will come. My work related busy-ness andsome other things has hold me back from posting few post which is drafted (needto be edit).  Time passed very fast andunwind, its like yesterday was 2008 but no, its now 2009 and year 2010 iscoming to us, in less than 2 month? And the world is changing too, do you guysnotice? I think you do, I don?t have to elaborate here though, you can get themfrom BBC or local papers? What crap am I saying? lol!

Anyway, lets get to my topic? Durian ? ?The king of fruit? some saying? Yes! I love this fruit, really I doand now is the season where you can just get it from (temporary) stall on yourway home, together with some other fruits like Rambutan, Langsat, Manggis, Tibadak, Tarap and many more. Somepeople could just pick them from their backyard because they grow the trees(lucky people, I am jealous ? I would be waiting for those Durians to fall fromthe tree if I got them in my backyard ? ?menunggu duyan gugur tu lai??)

I almost forgot to mention? Durian in English is, hmmm? letme see (referring to Mr. Dick a.k.a dictionary) couldn?t find it, is it ?spikyfruit? or ?thorny fruit?? Well, we can just say durian then? ;)

I got this two Durians from my sister (who hated to open itbut never hate to eat it) but I never eat it as I wasn?t fascinated by itbecause 2 numbers is never enough for my appetite ? once I eat durian, willnever stop until finish all and get ill few hours later, haha? and after 2 daysits still on my dining table ?untouched? and it started to ripe and crack byitself, making it easier to open? so figured what to do with it when I am noteating it? Durian Cheese Cake (recipes at the end of this post? ;)

Durian was believed to be originated from Brunei, Malaysiaand Indonesia.It is not native to Thailandbut is the largest durian exporter in the World, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. Other parts of the worldthat grows durian include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka,the West Indies, Florida, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, the Polynesian Islands,Madagascar, Southern China (Hainan Island), Northern Australia and Singapore.

Durians is seasonal fruit which will be fruiting from Augustto early November (in Bruneispecifically) because I think in some regions it is fruiting as early as in Mayand ended by late September.  As now thefruiting season is going to its end, we?re going to miss durian and otherseasonal local fruits but not to be worried, we can always get imported Duriansin the supermarket, usually called Durian Muntong, from Thailand.

Chantaburiprovince in Thailand holdingWorld Durian Festival day in May,half of Thailand?sdurian production comes from here.  Inthe Philippines, Davao Cityan annually thanksgiving celebration for their bountiful harvest are hosted,called ?Kadayawan Festival? whichfeatures local fruits including durians.

In Brunei,you can smell durians everywhere, offices, streets, malls, supermarket andespecially at the night market. Temporary stall will be open almost everywhereby locals to sell their harvested fruits and durian is the main attraction. Andit is also sad to say that Durian is still imported from neighboring countrymainly from Limbang, Lawas, Sandakanand Tawau but they?re still fresh?

A temporary stall, only open during fruiting season, foundalong Jalan Kg, Rimba, selling durians, cempedak, rambutan, manggis, langsatand kembayau.

Stall like this you can find on your way back home...

People having different ways of picking durians to see (feel,actually) either the fruit is good to be eaten or it is ripen too much, asmostly it is sold with shell. The stem that attach to durian?s fruit will bedried and started to fall off since it got off their trees, it is alsodetermine how fresh is that durians, when the stems still attached means it isfresh. Some people would shake that fruits and when there is sound from insidethe fruits which means the flesh are dry ripe and mature, separated from theshell but for some people they would preferred the flesh to be moist,therefore, it is good to ask your Durian?s vendor to open the durians for you,to ensure their quality (but mind that not all vendors will do this for you).

This is not so fresh durians I got (probably 2 to 3 dayssince picked from trees) ripe and crack, making it easier to open and made thewhole house so durian?s smell?

Opening durian could be troublesome for somepeople, as its thorny might injured your self but for some people they wouldwait for those durians to ripe and crack by itself which makes it easier toopen.  There is actually few ?lines? ifyou see thoroughly through durian?s skin and this lines separates each partswhere durian?s fleshes are.  Use glove orclothes to prevent injury when touching durians, a not necessarily sharp ?parang?or cleaver may be poked into top of that line and incline your cleaver to letit open, once open you can use your hand/palm to open the rest and get theflesh.

Ripen durians is easy to open and once open you?ll have toeat them straight away and if you cant finish them, call your neighbors to jointhe party but don?t worry, you may chilled durians in the fridge (make sureyour fridge is empty or your water would taste like durian? lol!) its still canbe eaten up to 3 days.

Some people would be disgusted with Durian?s smells, I findthem nasty but hilarious, they say its smells like garbage, dead rat, wet gymsocks, rotten onion etcs but for me, durians has one of a kind either for itssmells or the fruits itself (that?s why it get the title ?The King?).  You can always say, if you are going tosomeone?s house ?Durian?s smell? or even in public places? ?oh! Durians? andcraving for it instantly , then you?ll have to buy them?

In food, durians is mostly used as flavors in sweets liketraditional malay kuih, bubur (my favorite), iced kacang, ice cream, cakes,biscuit and candies. ?Tempoyak? is made from fermented durians as accompanimentfor dishes, as in Bruneiwe eat it together with ?ambuyat?. I rather eat durians fresh and will beeating like I will never gonna stop. It was also stated durian?s lover wouldspend a lot of money to buy the fruits and gathers their family members to eattogether ? this is one traditional way of eating durians and keeping familytogether.

Durians produced heat in our body system which cause us to sweatand that is why Manggis (mangosteen) are advisable as companied when eatingdurians (mangosteen as cooling agents). Durians may cause indigestion too andadvised not to consume wine/ alcohol or any gassy drink after eating it, thisis caused by sulphur content in durians.

Truth about Durian:

-        It is known as ?King of Fruits? in Asian countries

-        It is banned in public places like planes, subways,hotels, mall, etcs

-        Durians has been consumes by SouthEastAsian peoplesince pre-historic time

-        It is only known by westerners about 600 years ago

-        There are 55 different species of durians and about 190clone species

-        There is no such things as ?bald durian?

-        Durian trees can grow up to 50 meters and fruits once ayear (in some regions fruits twice a year)

-        I love durian!

Tips: for those who never tried durian in theirlife and wanted to try it, my advice do not try the frozen ones, when youtraveling to South East Asia, drop by in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia orBrunei to try the fresh one and I am sure, you going to love these fruits.

Ingredients:

220gm cream cheese

220gm mascarpone cheese

150gm caster sugar

150gm pao flour (Hong Kongflour)

4nos egg

200gm durian flesh

*as I was lazy to make base for its crust, I used sultanasbiscuit which I arranged ar the bottom of the mould.

Methods:

Heat up oven at 180?C.

Mix both cheese in your mixer together with sugar untilcreamy. Add flour and let it mixed. Beat eggs in a different bowl and add inthe mixture in and let it mix. Take out the bowl from machine and add durian flesh using spatula. Arrange sultanas biscuit as base and pour thebatter. Bake in the oven. Halfway baking, make sure your kitchen smells likedurian and wish for the cake to cook faster? lol!

Sultanas biscuit as crust... 

Can I have a slice?... and I was lazy to garnish it too buthey? its soo yummmyyyyy? perfect combination cheese and durian? both arecreamy. This cake also has wet/moist textures which is making itperfect for high tea meals after hard works in your office.

I hope you enjoy reading and one way for first-timer to trydurian, this cake is so delicious? heavenly, I ensure, after I made this cake Itold my colleague the next day and we end up making some in my workplace? adefinite sold out!!

P/s: I am having durian when I am posting this?

Regards,

Chef Nash