GOASIAPLUS August 2018

FOOD
TO LOVE OR
TO HATE –
THE THORNY
QUESTION
DESCRIBED BY SOME AS A FEROCIOUS
FRUIT WITH THORNS AND A REVOLTING
PUTRID SMELL, THIS FRUIT HAS GARNERED
DETRACTORS AND FANS ALIKE. DUBBED
THE KING OF FRUITS, ITS PUNGENT ODOUR
PERMEATES A ROOM AND COULD LINGER
FOR HOURS. MANY ARGUE THAT IT’S NOT
THE TASTE THAT PUTS THEM OFF, BUT ITS
DISAGREEABLE SMELL.
Text and photos REBECCA PH LEE
To some one who grew up with durian served
on warm rice with a splash of coconut milk
for dinner, ‘crazy about durian’ doesn’t even
describe my husband’s fondness for the fruit.
Several months before the durian season, calls were
made to the plantations to enquire if the durian trees
are flowering. This would then lead to the countdown
to when the fruit ripens and he would organize a 3-day
fruit and food tour around Penang to feast on the king
of fruits combined with the local delicacies. He often
taunts that if you have not gained 3 kilograms, you have
not visited Penang!
For my husband, he describes the fruit as a creamy
custard-like pulp with an almost caramalised sweetness
accompanied with a hint of bitterness that tease the
tongue. He believes that Penang has the best collection
of durian. A variety of names have been created, based
on the first impression of the fruit. The durian variety
‘Lin Fong Chao’, was named after the wife of Jackie
Chan, the actor, as the pale smooth flesh of the fruit
resembles her smooth facial skin.
‘Ang Hae’ or Red Prawn because of the mild
redness on the fruit, ‘Orh Chi’ or Black Thorn due to
the black tips on the spikes on the durian. There’s even
one called ‘Bak Yiu’ or ‘Lard’ as the texture of the fruit
resembled crispy fried lard! The firm pulp yield with
a crunch as you bite into the fruit to get to the custard
filling that melts in your mouth!
The variety most sort after, Musang King, has been
around for the past 40 years according to Mr Lim Peng
Siew of Lim Brothers Orchard in Balik Pulau, Penang.
It was known as Kunyit King he recalled.
The official registered name with the Malaysia
Department of Agriculture’s National Registrar of
Varieties listed it as ‘Raja Kunyit’, with the cultivar
“To me, the fruit has always
smelled of turpentine with a
hint of rotting onion.”
registered by Mr Wee Chong Beng from Kelantan in
1993. It was dubbed ‘Musang King’ after it has been
rediscovered and grown commercially in Raub, the
capital of Pahang state.
In Penang, the durians are never plucked. For an
aromatic and flavourful durian, they must drop from the
tree naturally with the most flavourful durians dropping
during the dry spell.
China’s obsession with the fruit has extends greatly
into the orchards in Malaysia where the Musang King
variety is bud grafted on existing older trees. In China,
its custom authority revealed that over 250 tons of
durian is imported every year, with a market worth
of US$22.3m. This tremendous demand has raised
durian prices in Malaysia and also ushered in a slew of
new food products created with durian filling or flavour.
Besides durian cake and cookies, there are chocolate
filled with durian, snowy moon cake with durian paste
and even durian-flavoured coffee!
To me, the fruit has always smelled of turpentine
with a hint of rotting onion. Though I have made
several attempts to taste the fruit, the overwhelming
flavour does not sit well with me. I have however, over
the years, come to term that with every durian season,
I will have to travel to the durian plantations with my
husband, put up with the smell of durian in the car and
the look of contentment on my husband’s face after
another satisfying round of durian eating with friends.
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