Versatile fruit

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Apart from being consumed as a fruit, the Vitamin C-rich pomelo can be incorporated into salads and soups. Even its peel can be dried and eaten.

THE pomelo is no boring old fruit. On the contrary, this Citrus grandis that catapulted the little town of Tambun near Ipoh, in Perak, to world recognition can be used as a healthy and delicious ingredient in cooking.

A.L. Leong, an engineer-turned-fruit farmer and author of cookbooks, said the pomelo can be used in salads and even soup.

“There are many healthy recipes using the fruit,” he said.

Promoting the pomelo: Engineer-turned-fruit farmer A.L. Leong (right) with Chin Too Kam at a recent event to demonstrate the versatility of the pomelo.

Demonstrating how it was done at Tambun Pomelo Growers Association secretary Chin Too Kam’s farm recently, Leong made an appetising Thai-style chicken pomelo salad. The dish is similar to the Thai kerabu mango salad but it uses chicken strips, pomelo and ginger instead.

He also made a chicken and pomelo soup following a recipe that he learnt from Chinese medicinal cookbooks.

“It is double-boiled with one whole chicken and pomelo sacs without any herbs,” said Leong, who later removed the chicken from the soup and served it with chopped ginger and coriander with soy sauce on the side.

The chicken, he explained, was raised on his own farm and given only natural feed such as fruit peel and vegetables.

Leong also made a stir-fried chicken dish using carrots, coriander and dried pomelo peel.

“People usually throw away the peel when it can actually be consumed by humans and chicken alike,” he said.

Stir-fried chicken with carrots, coriander and dried pomelo peel.

“The pomelo peel is boiled and dried many times before being cooked with honey and dried in the sun again.”

The dried peel can also be eaten on its own like a snack. It tasted like dried orange peel but is a tad more pungent.

“I try to use local fruits in my food,” Leong said.

The Chinese Wedelia of the Chrysanthemum family, a common plant found in the garden and by the roadside, can also be used in cooking and for making herbal tea, Leong said.

“The plant is beneficial to the respiratory system and has often been referred to as ‘the poor man’s birds’ nest’,” he added.

According to Chin, the pomelo contains up to 35% more vitamin C compared to apples and oranges.

“It is believed to be able to help manage high cholesterol, hypertension and respiratory problems, and also promote the production of insulin,” he said.

However, he warned that those on hypertension drugs should not take it, as it might lower their blood pressure too much.